John Henry Lewin Jr., a retired Venable Baetjer & Howard attorney, died of heart failure June 12 at his Bethany Beach, Delaware, home. He was 85 and had lived in Bolton Hill and Roland Park.

Born in Baltimore and raised in Ruxton, he was the son of John Henry Lewin Sr., an attorney, and Janet Keidel Lewin, an artist. He was a graduate of Gilman School, Princeton University and the University of Maryland School of Law.

He joined what was then known as the Venable, Baetjer & Howard law firm, where he became a partner and headed its litigation section. He handled the Martin-Marietta Lockheed merger, tobacco litigation, an oil firm price-fixing action, job discrimination and environmental cases.

“John was not only an excellent lawyer, but he was also a top-notch, fun-loving person to work with, who made Venable one of the best law firms in the country,” said his former legal partner, Stanley Mazaroff.

Retired U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg, who previously worked at the Venable law firm with Mr. Lewin, said, “John had a superb intellect. He was really first rate how he assessed a case. He considered the client, the judge and the opposing counsel. He was a great mentor and he taught me lessons when I later went on the bench.”

“In our time at Venable, we often had lunches together. They became seminars on how to practice law,” Judge Legg said.

Mr. Lewin met his future wife, Jean Talbot Brown “Tolly” Lewin, on a blind date organized by a mutual friend. They attended a party in Baltimore County.

“I got home that night and told my father I had met the man I was going to marry. My father laughed and we married six months later,” his wife said.

Mr. Lewin and his wife became seasoned entertainers.

“They provided a rollicking good time to their friends. An evening in their living room often turned into a dance party,” said Sheila Riggs, a friend. “John was the man with the twinkling eyes and that charming personality.”

Ms. Riggs also said, “John had a fierce intellect he employed to the advantage of his clients…people were often afraid to argue against him.”

For many years the couple resided in Bolton Hill in a home facing the John Street Park. They later lived on Longwood Road in Roland Park.

Mr. Lewin was a past president of the Baltimore City Bar Association and was named project coordinator for the Coordinating Council of Baltimore City. That post facilitated communication among members of the justice system in Maryland.

He had a lifelong devotion to civil rights. He belonged to the Congress of Racial Equality and did pro bono work for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. He was a member of the Elkridge Club, the Bachelors Cotillon and the Cripple Creek Country Club in Delaware.

Mr. Lewin was a founding member of the Baltimore Jazz Society. He maintained an extensive library of jazz recordings and played the drums in a small group.

After his retirement from Venable, he worked as a mediator for the McCammon Group. He enjoyed traveling to golfing destinations, cruising and painting in watercolors. He also wrote memoirs of his legal career.

Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Jean Talbot Brown “Tolly” Lewin; son, Jack Lewin of Annapolis; a daughter, Janet Lewin, of Mill Valley, California; and six grandchildren. His brother, Richard Carmichael “Mike” Lewin, died in 2018.

A service is planned for the fall.

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