Myer Jacobs, president and CEO of a contracting company and a man whose life was also filled with bike riding and playing tennis up to his last year, died at age 93 on July 23 at Cathedral Village in Andorra, Pa.

At Williard Inc., a company which contracted mechanical and electrical work before it was purchased and disbanded, Jacobs' firm did work on a number of prominent edifices, including Einstein Healthcare Network and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The Minnesota native earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Minnesota in mechanical and electrical engineering, and moved to Philadelphia to join his wife following his stint in the Army as a cartographer in India during World War II.

His early years in business, in Akron, Ohio, were tainted by prejudice. According to his daughter, Lynn Jacobs Karasik, "he faced discrimi­nation because he was Jewish," and throughout his working life used the name Mike rather than Myer to stave off the possibility of such encounters.

"He was especially interested in Jewish education," said Jacobs Karasik, who added that he bequeathed a substantial amount targeted for Jewish education to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

His Jewish activities also included being a founder and board member at the Germantown Jewish Centre. He was involved in support of the arts as well.

In addition to his daughter, Jacobs is survived by a sister, Ida Kohn (now 106 years old); and three grandsons.

He was predeceased by his wife, Myra, in 2006, after 65 years of marriage.