Colonial Penn Founder Dies

Leonard Davis, founder of Colonial Penn, died while on a cruise in South America Monday. He was 76. Davis and his wife, Sophie, founded Philadelphia-based Colonial Penn in 1963, which became one of the country’s largest insurance underwriters before being sold in 1984 to an industrial consortium.

The company was best known for its insurance policies for people over the age of 65. Davis, who lived in New York, retired to Palm Beach, Fla. after Colonial’s sale. There, he became a full-time philanthropist, donating money to a wide variety of health and cultural organizations in New York, California, Palm Beach, and Israel.