Leonard Rubin Sachs, a World War II combat pilot who later headed an office furniture business and chaired a Baltimore tourism commission, died Wednesday at Symphony Manor. The former Stevenson resident was 92.

“He died in his sleep. His heart stopped beating,” said his wife, Lainy LeBow-Sachs, a longtime adviser to the late Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

Born in Baltimore — he was delivered in a taxicab near the Maryland Penitentiary — Mr. Sachs was the son of Jacob Sachs and Mollie Rubin, who owned and operated a wholesale women's apparel business.

He was raised in Northwest Baltimore and was a 1942 graduate of Forest Park High School. He attended the University of Maryland, College Park before joining the military.

“He was 18 and had graduated high school, and dropped out of University of Maryland to enlist,” said his son, Andrew Sachs. “He proudly told the news to his father, who slapped him, then hugged him, because his father knew the horrors of World War I.”

After attending flight schools in Texas and Florida, he was assigned to England, France and Holland in the Army Air Forces.

A pilot on a Martin B-26 Marauder, he completed 26 missions in the 394th Bomb Group, nicknamed the “Bridge Busters.”

In a letter dated May 13, 1945, he wrote his parents: “Dear Folks, Well I did it! I've been over Berlin. Yesterday I buzzed the old town. We flew up there and had a real time.

“We went down the main drag at about 250 mph in between the rows of trees. The Russians rallied and the Germans ran,” he wrote. “Played tag with some Russian fighters and buzzed the airport with them.”

“He had just turned 21 years old, the war in Europe was over, and he and his crew were blowing off steam as they waited for news about their next posting, presumably in the Pacific theater, which fortunately never came,” his son said.

After the war, Mr. Sachs returned to Baltimore. His mother told him he would enter the family business. An older brother, Moshe Sachs, needed to complete his rabbinical school education.

Mr. Sachs complied with his mother's wishes and became a traveling salesman. He sold women's wholesale clothing for Jess Co. He later became president of the business, which he moved to East Preston Street.

In the summer of 1963, he joined community protests at segregated Gwynn Oak Park. His arrest at the park was covered in The Baltimore Sun.

“My father was proud of his military service, but he was more proud of that day,” said his son. “He did not agree with segregation, and he had an opportunity to do something about it.”

In 1983, Mr. Sachs became a commercial real estate developer. He developed a 1,300-space parking garage, a United Artists movie theater and a Chi-Chi's restaurant on Lombard Street at Market Place in downtown Baltimore.

“He always wanted to make Baltimore better,” his son said.

In 1989, he invested in another business, Maryland Office Interiors. His son said Mr. Sachs expanded the business from 25 employees to more than 150.

“Leonard ran the financial side of the business,” said his business partner, Richard Mandy. “He liked being around younger people and said, ‘That's what is going to keep me young.' He admired loyalty, aggressiveness and hard work.”

The office furniture firm supplied Johns Hopkins Hospital, the University of Maryland Medical Center and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

Mr. Sachs met his future wife, Lainy LeBow, at Beth Am Synagogue on Eutaw Place.

“He was a smart, kind, gentle, fun, wonderful human being,” she said.

His also chaired the Mayor's Commission for Tourism, Entertainment and Culture. In 1995, he worked to improve the appearance of Pennsylvania Station with new lighting and other improvements.

“It's the gateway to Baltimore,” he said in a 1995 Sun article.

In 2001, he worked with the Municipal Art Society to install a 51-foot burnished aluminum sculptural work, “Male/Female,” by sculptor Jonathan Borofsky, at the station.

“I think it's going to enhance the whole district surrounding Penn Station,” he told The Sun in 2001.

In 2008, Mr. Sachs became chair of the Maryland Economic Development Corp. He also sat on the Maryland Social Services Advisory Board and the Governor's Commission on Welfare Policy.

He served on the boards of Everyman Theatre, the Downtown Partnership, Pride of Baltimore and the Parks & People Foundation.

Services will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Sol Levinson & Brothers, 8900 Reisterstown Road.

In addition to his son and wife of 23 years, survivors include two daughters, Jacqueline Yale of New York City and JoCarol Snyder of Dickeyville; a stepson, Lawrence LeBow of Sykesville; a stepdaughter, Carrie LeBow of Lutherville; and nine grandchildren. His marriage to Barbara Mayer, a manager of the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, ended in divorce.

jacques.kelly@baltsun.com