(Courtesy of the Wertheimer family)
Barbara Morgen Wertheimer first encountered Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy not as a nonprofit executive, but as a mother searching for opportunity for her daughter Julie, who has mild cerebral palsy. When Julie was 5 years old, Wertheimer brought her to the small Northeast Philadelphia program for therapeutic horseback riding. She began as a parent volunteer, later joined the board and became its president. In 2005, after the sudden death of the organization’s founder, she stepped in as executive director — a role that grew into one of the defining commitments of her life.
Wertheimer, a longtime resident of Abington and member of Congregation Adath Jeshurun, grounded her work in Jewish values centered on responsibility, inclusion and service. Family members said she believed deeply in tikkun olam — repairing the world — and that belief guided her decades of civic involvement and nonprofit leadership. She died on Jan. 9 after a nearly six-year struggle with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She was 74.
“She always believed you get involved where you live and you stay involved,” her daughter Julie Wertheimer said. “That sense of responsibility guided everything she did.”
Born Barbara Ann Morgen in Brooklyn, New York, she was raised in White Meadow Lake, New Jersey, the daughter of Melvin Morgen and Sylvia Sobel Morgen. She attended Douglas College, the women’s college of Rutgers University, and earned a law degree from the New England School of Law in Boston.
After law school, Wertheimer practiced in New Jersey, focusing on municipal work and then family law. After moving to the Philadelphia area, she balanced professional responsibilities with raising two children with the late Dr. John Wertheimer, and found ways to remain deeply engaged in civic and community life.
“She never stepped back from things she cared about,” Julie Wertheimer said. “She just figured out how to do them in a different way.”
For roughly 35 years, Wertheimer served Abington Township in volunteer leadership roles, first on the Planning Commission and later on the Zoning Hearing Board. She was also active in local politics, attending committee meetings, working the polls on Election Day and encouraging civic participation.
“She believed you didn’t have to be loud to be effective,” said her daughter Samantha Wertheimer. “She came prepared, listened carefully and spoke when it mattered.”
When she stepped down from the Zoning Hearing Board, she received two standing ovations during her final meeting, a rare tribute to her decades of service.
Her most significant nonprofit leadership role was at Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy, where she served as executive director from 2005 until her retirement in 2019. Though she had no prior experience running a nonprofit organization, Wertheimer immersed herself in the work, learning grant writing, strengthening governance and expanding fundraising.
“She took a small but strong organization and helped it grow,” Julie Wertheimer said. “She stabilized it and made sure it could reach many more people.”
Under her leadership, Pegasus secured national certifications, expanded partnerships with schools and community organizations, increased grassroots and grant-based funding, and broadened its reach across the region. The organization was able to serve riders with a wide range of physical, cognitive and emotional challenges, as well as their families.
Even after retiring, Wertheimer continued to volunteer, until shortly before entering hospice care.
Wertheimer was also deeply involved in Jewish communal life. She was a longtime member of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park, where she held leadership roles connected to the synagogue’s school and was an early advocate for accessibility, including ramps and access to the bimah.
“She pushed for inclusion before people were really talking about it,” Julie Wertheimer said. “She just believed everyone should be able to participate.”
Her Jewish values shaped her home life as well. Family members recalled holiday tables that frequently expanded to include college friends and others who were unable to travel home. Wertheimer viewed hospitality as a responsibility rather than a gesture, and she encouraged her children to bring others along whenever they could.
“She opened the door without hesitation,” Julie Wertheimer said. “There was always room for one more.”
Outside of her civic and nonprofit work, Wertheimer had a lifelong love of musical theater. She performed with community theater groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and remained active both on stage and behind the scenes for decades, acting, singing, dancing and designing sets.
“She loved the stage,” Samantha Wertheimer said. “It brought her joy, and she loved that it brought joy to other people.”
Even after her cancer diagnosis in early 2020, Wertheimer remained active for much of her illness. She traveled with her partner, Ira Grindlinger, spent summers at the shore, hosted gatherings at her home and maintained a wide circle of friends. Family members said she remained forward-looking and engaged until the final months of her life.
“She was still making plans,” Samantha Wertheimer said. “That was her: always looking ahead.”
Throughout her life, Wertheimer was known as someone who stepped forward when work needed to be done and stayed involved for the long term.
“She cared deeply about people and about doing the right thing,” Samantha Wertheimer said. “She made her life about helping others, and that’s how people will remember her.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.