Comcast Founder Ralph Roberts Passes Away

(RTTNews) - Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) Friday announced the demise of its Founder and Chairman Emeritus Ralph Roberts in Philadelphia. He was 95. He founded Comcast in 1963 with the purchase of a 1,200-subscriber cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi and led the company for more than 50 years.

Ralph was a born entrepreneur, successful businessman and a philanthropist and he played a key role in the development of the cable television business.

He and his wife Suzanne were committed to the fight against cancer and, in 2006 helped establish the Roberts Proton Therapy Center at Penn Medicine. He also served on the boards of the Council of Emeritus Directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Brandywine Museum and Conservancy, the Advisory Board of the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, the Penn Medicine Board of Trustees and the National Conference for Community and Justice.

Ralph is survived by wife Suzanne Roberts and four children and eight grandchildren.