Marvin E. Black

Marvin E. Black passed away peacefully at age 99 on August 30, 2024. 

Devoted husband of the love of his life, the late Annette Wolowitz Black, and father of Mickey Black (Barbara) and Lauri Mufson (Michael) . Grandfather of Anna Black Morin (Eric), Daniel Mufson (Justine), the late Lee Forest Black of blessed memory (Molly) and Haley Fiebach (Michael). Great grandfather of Ruby and Hattie Morin, Levi and Sonny Fiebach and Zoe and Ben Mufson. 

Marvin was the son of Hughie and Selma Black and brother to the late Libby Halpern (Ted). 

Marvin grew up in Upper Darby, PA. His father Hughie, who came to America in 1906, was co-founder and captain of the original South Philadelphia Hebrew Athletic Society (SPHAS) basketball team, forefathers of today’s NBA Philadelphia Sixers. 

Marvin attended Upper Darby High School and then graduated Riverside Military Academy before heading off to serve in the US Navy in World War II. He was a radio man on a landing craft in the battle of Okinawa. 

After the war, Marvin became a student at Temple University and met Annette Wolowitz, a student at the University of Pennsylvania. They were married in 1950 at Adath Jeshurun synagogue in Philadelphia. 

In 1931, Hughie and Selma started a children’s summer camp, Pine Forest Camp, in the Poconos in Greeley, Pennsylvania. Marvin gave up his teaching job to work full time at the camp. Soon he was joined by his brother-in-law, Ted Halpern, and together with his wife, Annette, and his sister, Libby, Pine Forest Camp flourished. In the early 1960’s, Marvin and Ted expanded the camp organization by starting Lake Owego Camp for boys and Camp Timber Tops for girls. The camps continue to thrive today. 

Marvin received many accolades in his lifetime for his camping leadership and served on the national board of the American Camp Association and the boards of the not for profit, Golden Slipper Camp and Variety Club Camps. 

He was a proud Temple University alum and was inducted into Temple University’s “Gallery of Success,” representing the College of Health Professionals and Social work. There, he established the “Annette and Marvin Black Scholarship Fund”. He will be honored by the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame posthumously on September 26. 

Marvin and Annette spent their winters in Longboat Key, Florida where he was an avid tennis player well into his 90’s. His mantra was “Keep Playing Tennis!" 

Funeral services and interment are private. 

Donations can be made to a charity of your choice, the "Temple University”, (Subject indicate "Annette & Marvin Black Scholarship Fund") giving.temple.edu/AnnetteandMarvinBlackScholarship, P.O. Box 2890, New York, NY 10116-2890 or the “Hughie and Selma Black Foundation”, 185 Pine Forest Rd., Greeley, Pa. 18425 

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