Leadership matters: Lynmar Brock, Jr., a titan in Rotary, passes away

By Jay Pennie

When I recently Googled the word leadership, I received 2.8 BILLION results! Tens of thousands of books, videos, seminars have been created on this topic. Thousands of “experts” write, speak, and frankly make a good living touting the “secrets” of great leadership. However, with all of this collective knowledge, why does great leadership still seem so elusive? 

I’m not an expert on great leadership. But I believe I know a great leader when I see one. I’ll mention one: Lynmar Brock, Jr.   

Lynmar receiving ‘Service Above Self’ Lifetime Achievement award at The Union League of Philadelphia in 2015.

I first met Lynmar about twenty years ago while I was a director at the Academy of Natural Sciences. We hired his company, Brock and Company, Inc., to provide food service for the museum’s guests. We were looking for a company large enough to handle our needs and provide great customer service, but still family-owned. Lynmar, along with his son Andrew, visited the museum many times to make sure everything was going well. He impressed me from the first day that we met. He was always friendly and wore a great smile. He genuinely loved people. 

About ten years later we met again — this time by chance — at a cultivation event that I had helped organize when I was president of an art school in Philadelphia. I came to learn that Lynmar was a great lover of the arts and was a vital supporter of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Pennsylvania Ballet. 

Afterward he asked, if I had ever considered joining Rotary and would I come to a meeting. In my head I was thinking, “What is Rotary?” What came out of my mouth was, “Sure, I’ll come to a meeting.” He explained that Rotary International is one of the largest volunteer humanitarian organizations in the world with 1.2 million members, 35,000 clubs, and 16 million volunteers in 200 countries. His proposal came along at the right time in my life because I was looking for volunteer and networking opportunities.   

A few weeks later, I joined a few of the meetings held at The Union League of Philadelphia. What impressed me most about that first lunch meeting still stands today. The Rotary Club of Philadelphia members were smart, accomplished, generous, and friendly. A few months later, I joined. Lynmar conducted the ceremony in August 2010 and inducted me along with fellow Rotarian and now long-time club Treasurer, Dave Gill. Lynmar’s induction ceremonies were funny and memorable. 

What I did not fully understand at the time was that Lynmar was a great leader in Rotary, in business, in the military, in the community, and in life. 

In Rotary, he served as President of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia (1974-75), District Governor (1978-79), and Director for Rotary International (1992-94). During those years, he mentored many members who went on to become leaders in Rotary International. He went on many humanitarian missions including distributing polio vaccines in India and Madagascar. He served as Chair of the Rotary International Committee for Afghan Refugees that helped relocate 50,000 in Pakistan. He served while balancing time from family and running his family business.  

Earlier in his life, as a Naval Officer, he served in the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and at the Pentagon’s Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. He was later reassigned to the destroyer USS McNair during the Bay of Pigs operation. He eventually left active duty as Lieutenant but continued in the naval reserves. He left the Navy after his father, Lynmar Brock Sr. became ill, to take over the company as CEO. 

At the Rotary Club of Philadelphia meetings, he always greeted everyone with a warm smile. At those same meetings, I came to learn about his Quaker background which no doubt contributed to his humble demeanor. He never had an unkind word to say about anyone. 

At every meeting, he introduced members to his wife, Brussels-born Claudie, who was always by his side. It was clear to everyone how proud he was of his wife and still in love with her after more than five decades of marriage. Lynmar also wrote four historical novels, one of which, In This Hospitable Land, is a fictionalized version of his wife’s true story surviving the Holocaust in the South of France. He was especially proud that the book was chosen for publication by Amazon’s Lake Union Publishing and was an award-winning finalist for Amazon’s Fiction: Historical category of the 2012 International Book Awards list.

Lynmar and Claudie loved to travel, often to the most exotic places around the world. Among those places, they traveled several times to the Khyber Pass and along the Afghan border in Baluchistan west of Quetta. He often spoke at meetings about his adventures and how he learned first-hand about the rich cultures around the world and the challenges the people were experiencing. 

Claudie and Lynmar Brock, Jr.

Several years ago, I began to notice that he was not attending meetings as much as he once did. Eventually, Lynmar left the Rotary Club Philadelphia to join a club closer to his home in the Chester County area to avoid the travel to Center City Philadelphia. During those years, everyone missed his warm smile, his funny stories, his wife Claudie, his service to others, and his presence at meetings. Sadly, we also came to learn that he had become afflicted with dementia over the past few years.  

Nine years after Lynmar asked me to join Rotary, I was appointed as the 109th President of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia. Thank you Lynmar for your leadership. So many people have benefited from your kindness, generosity, and help. I would not have had this opportunity to serve without your efforts and guidance. 

Rotary’s motto is “Service above self.” Lynmar lived that motto in all aspects of his life.   

So, what makes for a great leader? I’m sorry to say, but I’m still not really sure. But, I know one when I see one. His name is Lynmar Brock, Jr. 

Gifts in his memory can be made online to The Rotary Foundation or mail to: The Rotary Foundation, 14280 Collections Center Drive, Chicago, IL 60693.

Read Lynmar Brock Jr.’s obituary here.