John B. Huffaker, longtime Philadelphia tax attorney, has died at 97

John B. Huffaker, 97, formerly of Bryn Mawr, longtime lawyer, tax expert, international philanthropist, pilot, and veteran, died Monday, Oct. 2, after a brief illness at his home in McLean, Va.

Prominent for his expertise in tax regulations and estate planning, and much in demand by individual clients, government agencies, and organizations of all kinds for his detailed analyses of complicated financial issues, Mr. Huffaker fashioned a lawyer’s career that spanned nearly six decades.

He joined Pepper, Hamilton, and Scheetz, now Troutman Pepper, in Philadelphia in 1966, served for years as chair of its tax department, and practiced well into his 80s. He was more interested in the intricacies of tax law than trial work, and he consulted often with officials from the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service.

He developed tax legislation for the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation in the 1950s and testified later before Congress about its effectiveness. He was adept at cutting through complexity, a colleague said, and creative in his problem-solving procedures.

“He raised novel and interesting ways of managing tax problems for his clients,” a former colleague said in a tribute.

Mr. Huffaker served as a Department of State Honorary Consul to Madagascar for 20 years and president of the Consular Corps in Philadelphia. In a 1993 profile for his 45th law school reunion, Mr. Huffaker said his work in government and philanthropy around the world “leaves me with great respect for our system of values, appreciation for the efforts to defend them, and awareness of the need for continuing renewal and vigilance.”

He appeared before the Supreme Court in 1986 and was active with the American College of Tax Lawyers, American Tax Council, American Law Institute, and other groups. “He was intellectually curious,” said his daughter Meg Huffaker. “He enjoyed it when his clients presented him with challenges that were not simple to solve.”

His daughter Christiana Huffaker Logansmith said: “He said law is all about the details.”

As a philanthropist, Mr. Huffaker was former board chairman of Pearl S. Buck International and its Welcome House adoption program, and he sponsored five children between 1989 and 2019. Officials in the Philippines named a building after him and his first wife in recognition of their charitable efforts there.

He was a trustee at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church and freely assisted other religious organizations with their financial concerns. One church leader called him “a lawyer with the right mix of humility and principle, and a man of deep personal faith, integrity, and intellectual curiosity.”

John Boston Huffaker was born Nov. 1, 1925, in Nashville. He graduated high school in Martinsville, Va., became an Eagle Scout, and joined the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps at Yale University.

He earned a bachelor’s degree at Yale in 1946, spent a year on a Navy ship in the Pacific Ocean, and graduated first in the class of 1948 from the University of Virginia’s School of Law. He returned to the Navy as an intelligence officer in the Philippines during the Korean War.

He met Grace Logan in Manila, and they married in 1954, and had daughters Meg and Christiana. His wife died in 1989. He married Judith Webster in 1992. She died in 2021.

Mr. Huffaker worked for Cummings, Stanley, Truitt, and Cross in Washington before moving to the Philadelphia area in 1956 to work at Duane, Morris, and Heckscher, and then Rawle and Henderson. He lived in Media, Villanova, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford before moving to Virginia a few years ago.

Mr. Huffaker was a prolific writer. He read lots of nonfiction and traveled the world with his family.

He skied in the Poconos and the Alps, in New England and Quebec. He flew friends to events, piloted his own airplane, and enjoyed entertaining colleagues in his home.

He liked trains, played tennis and squash, and was a member of the Merion Cricket Club, Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, and Lawyer Pilot Bar Association. He was a constant at charity auctions and galas in the 1980s and ‘90s

“He was always positive and all about moving forward,” said his daughter Meg. His daughter Christiana said: “He always said, ‘Be kind. Be courteous. Think of others.’ And he always thought of others.”

In addition to his daughters, Mr. Huffaker is survived by a grandson, a brother, and other relatives

A memorial service is to be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010. A reception is to follow.

Donations in his name may be made to the University of Virginia Law School Foundation’s Class of 1948 Professorship, 580 Massie Rd., Charlottesville, Va. 22903; and Pearl S. Buck International, 520 Dublin Rd., Perkasie, Pa. 18944.