George D. Gould, a Philadelphia legal aid lawyer who spent more than five decades fighting for safe, affordable housing for poor tenants and homeowners, died on June 28 at Abington Hospital after a long illness. He was 83.

Gould founded and led the housing unit at Community Legal Services, where he became known as one of the country’s leading housing lawyers for economically disadvantaged people. He sued federal and local agencies, challenged discriminatory housing policies, worked with tenant groups and helped shape programs that kept people in their homes.

Lou Rulli, a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and former executive director of Community Legal Services, worked with Gould for many years.

“George was a force of nature,” Rulli said. “He was the preeminent housing lawyer, not only in Philadelphia but across the nation for poor people.”

Rulli said Gould worked “around the clock” when he believed his clients’ rights were being violated. He sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Philadelphia Housing Authority. He worked to expand public housing, protect homeowners, fight lead poisoning and make sure low-income families had safe places to live.

“He was willing to confront power at any cost, at any risk,” Rulli said.

One of Gould’s major fights involved Whitman Park, a long-delayed public housing development in South Philadelphia. During Mayor Frank Rizzo’s administration, the project became a symbol of resistance to public housing in white neighborhoods. Gould and his colleagues helped prove that the opposition was racially discriminatory, and the homes were eventually built.

Gould also helped fight for homeowners during the recession of the early 1980s, when many people were losing homes after falling behind on mortgages through no fault of their own. Working with community groups, including the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, he helped obtain a court order stopping foreclosure-related sheriff’s sales in Philadelphia. That work helped lead to Pennsylvania’s Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program.

Rulli said the case showed Gould’s ability to see a legal path where others saw only a political or social problem.

Gould’s legal style combined force with patience. He was tenacious in court and in administrative battles, but also worked with legislators, community organizations and public officials. His wife, Diane L. Gallagher, said he was respectful even when confronting powerful people.

Gallagher remembered Nellie Reynolds, a tenant leader who worked closely with Gould. He admired her organizing ability and saw her as a partner, not simply as a client.

“He never thought that it should just be him alone doing something,” Gallagher said. “He wanted to educate people so that they could be better advocates for themselves.”

Inside Community Legal Services, Gould mentored generations of lawyers. Rulli said no one knew more about housing programs, HUD rules and obscure directives. If Gould did not know an answer, he kept working until he found one.

“He was the person to go to,” Rulli said.

Gould was born in 1943 in Philadelphia and grew up in Elkins Park. His parents were Leon and Alia Gould. His father was an accountant, and his mother was a social worker who helped establish child protective services in Philadelphia.

The extended family included people in the legal profession who took strong positions on politics, fairness and social responsibility.

“He grew up in a family that discussed those issues all the time,” Gallagher said.

Gould was raised in a Jewish household and community. Gallagher said she saw a connection between his Jewish background, his Jewish friends and the values that shaped his work.

“There was a predominant theme of giving and of being responsible for your neighbor and taking care of one another and making sure that everyone’s treated fairly,” she said.

Gould went to Muhlenberg College, where he played football and majored in history. Before law school, he taught third grade in North Philadelphia for a year.

The teaching experience fit the rest of his life, Gallagher said. “He was always looking to make sure that things were done to include people, not to exclude,” she said.

After graduating from Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law, Gould came to Community Legal Services in 1970 through a fellowship. The organization was small then, with young lawyers eager to use the law for people who could not afford representation.

Away from legal work, Gould was just as active. He loved walking, ran marathons, fished, biked to work and skied.

At home, Gallagher said, he was devoted to their son, Peter. Gould coached Peter’s soccer and baseball teams, went to his games and traveled to see him play basketball at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

“He adored Peter,” Gallagher said, “absolutely adored him.”

Gould remained involved in housing issues after retirement, continuing to volunteer and participate in legal services work. He still pushed for stronger lead paint protections and other tenant rights.

Gallagher said his work changed Philadelphia by improving housing conditions for thousands of people and leaving behind structures that others could build on.

“I think he set the groundwork for things that have continued to benefit homeowners and renters,” she said.

Rulli said Gould deserved to be remembered not only for what he won, but for how he lived among colleagues and clients.

“He deserves a good remembrance of what he accomplished and what he was,” Rulli said, “and how much he really was admired and respected and loved in our community.”

Ellen Braunstein is a freelance obituary writer. She welcomes suggestions for individuals who had meaningful ties to the Philadelphia Jewish community. Email csix@midatlanticmedia.com.