Phyllis Whitman Beck ’49 of Philadelphia— who in 1981 became the first female judge on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania—died March 3 of complications after a fall. Beck had attended Temple University Beasley School of Law’s evening division and had graduated first in her class in 1967.

She was initially denied approval to take the bar exam by the Delaware County Ethics Committee, whose members questioned her moral fit as an attorney if she was “neglecting her responsibilities to her household and children.” And yet, daughter Alice told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2008: “My mother’s genius is her close relationship with all her children.”

Before pursuing law, Beck worked as a researcher for TIME magazine and as a reporter for the Berkshire Eagle in Massachusetts. In addition to her time serving on the judiciary, Judge Beck was also a faculty member at Temple and Villanova law schools, and was vice dean at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She served on the Penn Nursing Board of Advisors from 1985 through 2014. After retiring from the bench in 2006, Judge Beck served as general counsel of the Barnes Foundation, advisory board chair of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, mediator for superior court, and chair of the Independence Foundation. Through the support of the Independence Foundation, she established the Beck Chair in Law at Temple, which brings notable leaders or outstanding scholars in law or a related field to the faculty.