Angela Peckham Hewett passed away on March 3, 2026. Angela devoted decades of extraordinary service to historical preservation, most notably through her work with the Friends of the Thomas Leiper House. As president for more than forty years, she transformed the organization through her leadership—developing public tours and educational programs, conducting original research on Thomas Leiper and his connections to the Founding Fathers, and curating and expanding the museum’s collections. Her impact extended across the region through founding and leadership roles in local historical organizations, including the Nether Providence Historical Society and the Delaware County Historical Society. In recognition of her enduring contributions to local history and community education, she received the A. Lewis Smith Award in 2019 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Heritage Commission of Delaware County in 2024.
A longtime resident of Wallingford, PA, Angela was born in Ann Arbor, MI. Her father, an author and historian who directed the Clements Library at the University of Michigan, instilled in her a lifelong passion for American history. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Hanover College in 1963 and later completed a master’s degree at the University of Utah. There, she met her husband, Thomas Hewett. The couple married in 1968 and eventually settled in Nether Providence, where they raised their children. Tom Hewett died in 2019. Angela is survived by her children, Kathryn Giorgianni of Lansdale, Eric Hewett (Anna) of Hörbranz, Austria, David Hewett (Kristen) of Philadelphia, twelve grandchildren, and her brother Stephen Peckham (Dina) of Lexington, KY.
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