A passionate lawyer who represented some of Allegheny County's poorest residents, Lawrence Funsten once threw together a class-action legal brief in 24 hours when a state budget stalemate halted welfare payments.

Friends and family said he was a guardian angel for the disadvantaged, driven by a generous spirit and an acute sense of empathy; in his later years, he took homeless people in need into his home.

Mr. Funsten, who lived mainly in Squirrel Hill and Highland Park, died Oct. 19 of complications related to Alzheimer's disease. He was 63.

Born with spina bifida, a developmental defect that led him to have four surgeries in the first six years of his life, he was given a grim prognosis as an infant. Doctors suggested he be institutionalized, said his sister, Marie Gowen, of Levittown, Pa.

Instead, Mr. Funsten grew to become an inquisitive, capable student and then a dogged advocate for the poor, fighting for their access to benefits like welfare, Social Security and food stamps.

"He was interested in all sorts of people, almost anyone," said his friend Steve Dytman, of Highland Park, "but he was particularly interested in people who needed help."

"Most of his life, he was always looking to help somebody," said Ms. Gowen.

Born in 1945 in New York, Mr. Funsten was raised in Levittown, Bucks County.

His spina bifida forced him to use a wheelchair when he was young, but after several surgeries, he was able to walk without assistance, and as the eldest of nine children, he quickly learned to be self-sufficient.

"As soon as he graduated high school, he was anxious to go to college at a time when lots of people were fearful and nervous about it," said his brother Stephen Funsten, of Glen Mills, Delaware County.

Mr. Funsten graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1967 and took a job as a social worker. But eventually he decided that he could help more people as an attorney, so he enrolled in the Pitt School of Law, said Ms. Gowen.

After his graduation in 1979, Mr. Funsten joined Neighborhood Legal Services, a Pennsylvania nonprofit that provides legal assistance to the poor. He worked out of its Pittsburgh office for more than 15 years, specializing in welfare and public benefits.

The organization's executive director, Bob Racunas, said Mr. Funsten was "very dedicated to the job, and to the improvement of the quality of life for our clients."

During this time period, Mr. Funsten also embarked on a unique, progressive project, buying a house with a group of seven adults and starting one of Pittsburgh's first "urban communes," said Mr. Dytman. The housemates shared rent, cooking and cleaning responsibilities.

Mr. Funsten worked and lived in Pittsburgh until his health began to deteriorate, said Ms. Gowen.

"It was so sad, too, because he didn't realize what was happening to him, and he was fighting it," she said of the Alzheimer's symptoms he began to experience in his 50s.

Before he died, he moved to a nursing home in Richboro, Bucks County, closer to his family, she said.

"Had he stayed healthy, I know he would have wanted to stay [in Pittsburgh]," said Stephen Funsten. "He developed such good friendships, and long-lasting friendships."

In addition to his brother and sister, Mr. Funsten is survived by six other siblings, Anthony Funsten of King of Prussia, Montgomery County; Irene Funsten of Homestead, Fla.; Susan Mayette of Riegelsville, Bucks County; and Felice Immordino, Louis Funsten Jr. and Michael Funsten, all of Levittown.

A memorial service will be held on Friday at 1 p.m. at the James O. Bradley Funeral Home, 260 Bellevue Ave., Penndel, Bucks County.

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