Richard Mark Alter, president and CEO of the Manekin real estate investment, management and operating company, passed away on Thursday, July 17.
The Mount Washington native, who lived in North Baltimore, was 81.
A 1962 graduate of Baltimore City College, Alter received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Brown University, where he was an All-American lacrosse goalie. He was also named the “outstanding lacrosse player of 1966” by the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.
Alter received a juris doctorate from the University of Maryland Law School in 1970.
Alter joined Manekin in 1971 and oversaw corporate operations. He spearheaded the company’s growth throughout Maryland and in adjacent states, developing more than 12 million square feet of property throughout the Baltimore-Washington corridor and Northern Virginia.
Alter helped Manekin transition from a family-owned business into a premier institutional capital partner.
In his philanthropic endeavors, Alter served on the boards of the Johns Hopkins Heart Institute Initiative Advisory Council, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Camp Shoresh, Beth Tfiloh Congregation, the Baltimore City Housing Partnership, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, the Maryland Heart Association and the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel.
“If one were to look up the meaning of the word ‘Mensch’ in the dictionary, the entry would read, ‘See Richard Alter,’ because that’s exactly what he was,” wrote Rabbi David E. Herman on the memorial page of Sol Levinson & Bros. “A mensch through and through. Hashem made him the Gold Standard when it came to doing Maasim Tovim/Good deeds. From Beth Tfiloh, FIDF, JNF, Camp Shoresh, Shaarei Tfiloh, State of Israel Bonds, Boys Town Jerusalem and countless other wonderful charities and worthy organizations, Richard was always the first to help out. He was always volunteering. … He certainly was special and definitely one of a kind!”
Alter is survived by his wife, Rosalie Alter (nee Kershman); his children, J. Zachariah (Rachel) Alter, Jamie (Derek) Deutsch and Kelly Alter (Fred Pope); his siblings, Mary (Andrew) Malinow and Kathy Gottschalk; and his grandchildren, Zoey (Ofer) Nahom, Noa and Benjamin Deutsch, Ethan and Anna Pope, Mila, Samantha and Hazel Alter.
He was predeceased by his devoted parents, Lucille and Irving Alter.
Services will be held Friday, July 18, at 1:30 p.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. Interment at Beth Tfiloh Cemetery, 5800 Windsor Mill Road.
Contributions in Richard Alter’s memory may be sent to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, P.O. Box 4224, New York, New York 10163, or the Rosalie and Richard Alter Scholarship Fund, Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, 3300 Old Court Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21208.
The family will be in mourning at Beth Tfiloh Congregation immediately following interment until 5:30 p.m. with a service at 6:30 p.m. Continuing on Sunday at Beth Tfiloh from 2-6:30 p.m., with a service at 6:45 p.m.
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