Well known local real estate principal, J. Francis Mahoney IV of Wynnewood, passed away on  November 28th, aged 69, after complications from cancer at Kindred Hospital in Havertown. Known to family and friends as “Fran,” Mahoney was born in Philadelphia as the eldest son of physicians J. Francis Mahoney III and Margaret G. Mahoney.

Mahoney received his education at the Malvern Preparatory School, continuing at the University of Pennsylvania after graduation. His career began in the early 1970s, when he started working at Albert M. Greenfield & Co. in Philadelphia. This is where his natural business talent began to shine as he quickly rose to become Vice President of the Industrial Real Estate Department.

In 1990, Mahoney moved to the commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, where he was the Director of the Industrial and Technology Services Group. Looking for a new challenge in 2014, he joined Peter Greenhalgh in founding Waldron Commercial Realty Advisors in Devon, where he worked on projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

“Fran was a lifelong friend and a great business partner for 30 years,” Greenhalgh wrote in an email. “He was extremely bright, and had a unique understanding of people, their needs and motivations. Known for being competitive, but always honest and fair, he was a major contributor to the Philadelphia industrial real estate industry and will be greatly missed.”

In addition to his work obligations, Mahoney was the leader of the Philadelphia Board of Realtors, the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, as well as a member of the Tri-State Board of Realtors.

Upon finding out about his illness, friends and relatives rushed to lend their support with around the clock visits to his room at Bryn Mawr and Kindred Hospitals.

“The staff affectionately referred to his location as the ‘party room’ because it was always filled with laughing guests,” his family said.