

Arthur was the son of Leo Feder who ran a small manufacturing business in the garment center of New York, and Bertha Franklin Feder who was an expert bookkeeper. Neither Leo nor Bertha graduated from high school. Arthur's real education began at Brooklyn Technical High School, from which he graduated in 1945. Arthur then enlisted in the Navy's elite radio technician program. In 1946, he enrolled in Columbia, graduating from the College in 1949 and the Law School in 1951. Arthur won honors at all of his academic institutions. After two years practicing corporate law, Arthur moved to the corporate tax world. He served as research assistant to Professor Stanley Surrey from 1953 to 1954. He then joined the firm that later became Roberts & Holland where he became a partner. In 1965, Arthur moved his practice to Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. Later he moved to the firm that became Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, where he practiced until 1996. During that time, he was Chairman of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar. In 1996, he became Senior Counsel to the Executive Committee at Herzog, Heine & Geduld. When that firm was sold, he joined Cougar Capital, Buzzy Geduld's private office, where he worked until his death. Arthur met Ruth Musicant in 1947 when he was at Columbia College and she was at Barnard. Married in 1949, they had a long, rich, and fulfilling life together, surrounded by family and friends who loved them dearly, and spent every August for the last three decades in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard. Ruth died in 2019. Arthur is survived by their children Gwen, Leslie, and Andrew; their son-in-law Garrick Leonard; and their eight grandchildren, Bliss, Isaiah, Andries, So A, Calypso, Catalina, Alex, and Aviva. For his 90th birthday, he surprised his family by hiring a film crew and creating a video recounting his memories of growing up in New York City (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HAwLmavJnhw). Donations in Arthur's memory may be given to the Feder Fund at the New York Public Library or the Feder Leonard Fund at the Brooklyn Public Library, which both support awards for outstanding librarians and staff. A memorial service will be announced later. At his request, it will be held at the University Club where Ruth's memorial service was held.
Contributions in Arthur's memory may be made to The Feder Fund at The New York Public Library (www.nypl.org\feder) or the Feder Leonard Fund at the Brooklyn Public Library (https://apps.bklynlibrary.org/donate/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=sitewide-header; once you have chosen your payment method, please find the Direct Your Gift menu and select the Feder Leonard Fund for Staff Excellence)
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