Kennard Besse was honored in first class of Laureates
By Stephen Anderson
Kennard J. Besse, seated in a comfortable chair on a dais filled with distinguished lawyers and jurists, was the first to be called forward for induction in the inaugural class of Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers.
That event, which was attended by justices of the Illinois Supreme Court, took place Dec. 10, 1999, as the pinnacle feature of the ISBA Midyear Meeting in the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago.
Mr. Besse, who retired in 1992 from the Sterling firm of Besse, Frye, Arnold, Miller & Lancaster, died Dec. 9 at age 89. A 1939 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, he joined the firm of his father, Robert W. Besse, before service as an Army Quartermaster Corps captain during World War II.
While he chaired the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee, Kennard Besse was credited with enabling Interstate Route 88 to be extended to the Sterling-Rock Falls area in 1974.
Earlier in his career, he had served as Sterling city attorney and a master in chancery of Sterling City Court before judicial reform. A past president of the boards of the YMCA and Sterling High School, he was attorney for the Whiteside County Housing Authority for 45 years.
Mr. Besse received an ISBA Award of Merit for chairing the long-range planning committee and the Allerton House Conference on civil practice and procedure. He was a member of the ISBA Board of Governors from 1966 to 1970 and treasurer for two years.
Active in many community organizations, Mr. Besse received the initial Sterling School Foundation Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001. A past president of the Whiteside County Bar Association, he was memorialized during its Jan. 28 meeting.
Robert Broderick
Robert L. Broderick of Belleville died Dec. 26 at age 92 in his home. He was of counsel to Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale in Swansea. A 1935 graduate of the Washington University School of Law, he began his practice with Pope & Driemeyer, which became Thompson Coburn.
A past president of the East St. Louis Bar Association, Mr. Broderick served on the ISBA Committee on Professional Responsibility and the advisory council for Illinois Law Forum. He was one of the first 65 members of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Mr. Broderick was a past president of the Signal Hill School Board and the Mississippi Valley Boy Scout Council, which honored him with a Silver Beaver Award. He served on the boards of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce and First national Bank of East St. Louis.
John Chamberlin
Highland Park attorney John Byrne Chamberlin died Dec. 20 at age 94 in Highland Park Hospital. He was a 1934 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law.
Edwin Douglas
Retired 18th Circuit judge Edwin L. Douglas died Jan. 19 at age 89 of pneumonia in Edward Hospital, Naperville. A 1940 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, he began his legal career by investigating enemy aliens for the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Immigration.
Mr. Douglas enlisted in the Army at the beginning of World War II and was sent to officer training school. His service in the 3rd Army's 9th Armored Division Counter-intelligence Corps took him to Luxembourg, Belgium and France, where he worked with underground resistance forces. He received a Bronze Star.
After his discharge, Mr. Douglas did legal work for the Atomic Energy Commission and represented the government in loyalty hearings.
Returning to DuPage County, he was appointed an assistant state's attorney in 1954. Three years later, he became public defender. In addition to his Warrenville law practice, he served on the board of education for five years and was its legal adviser for 15 years.
Elected to the circuit court in 1970, Mr. Douglas was named chief judge in 1981. He was presiding judge of the Chancery Division when he retired in 1985.
Peter De Vuono
Former Chicago attorney Peter K. De Vuono Sr., a resident of Palatine, died Jan. 18 at age 94 of influenza in Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights.
A graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, Mr. De Vuono was an assistant Chicago corporation counsel for several years. He was an Army second lieutenant during World War II and a state representative from 1952 to 1954.
Mr. De Vuono also owned a real estate company and a tile store while living in Skokie. He moved to Florida in 1979 and passed the state's bar examination at age 78.
James East
Hinsdale attorney James W. East Sr. died Dec. 4 at age 82 in Hinsdale Hospital. He was in practice with his son, James W. East Jr. Mr. East served in the Army during World War II and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1949.
William Fay
Jacksonville attorney William L. Fay died Jan. 18 at age 89 in Passavant Area Hospital. He was of counsel to Bellatti, Fay, Bellatti & Beard.
A 1938 graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Fay practiced with Gardner, Carton & Douglas in Chicago until he joined the Navy in 1942. He served during World War II at the invasion of Sicily and at Russell Island in the South Pacific, where he headed an airborne training group.
Near the end of the war, he became aide to the commanding officer at the Glenview Naval Air Station and later served at Kansas bases training B-29 crews for attacks on Japan.
Mr. Fay was Morgan County state's attorney, Jacksonville city attorney and secretary of the Jacksonville Airport Authority, which he helped organize. He was a delegate to the Illinois Constitutional Convention and chair of its judiciary committee.
A past president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis and YMCA, Mr. Fay was co-chair of the public library rebuilding campaign. He had honorary degrees from Illinois College and MacMurray College, where he was a lifetime trustee.
Angelo Gaziano
Rockford attorney Angelo Nicholas Gaziano, a past president of the Winnebago County Bar Foundation, died Dec. 10 at age 81 in his home of cancer.
A 1950 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Mr. Gaziano had served with the Army in Europe and the Pacific during World War II. During his legal career he was city attorney for Rockford and South Beloit.
Mr. Gaziano chaired the Greater Rockford Airport Authority Board and was a hearing examiner for the Illinois Commerce Commission. He served on the ISBA Workers' Compensation Section Council. He was inducted into the Rockford Italian-American Hall of Fame in 1992.
Survivors include a son, George G. Gaziano, who is an attorney in Phoenix, Ariz.
Walter Hess
Chicago attorney Walter A. Hess died Jan. 29 at age 64. A 1982 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, he was a retired Army major and judge advocate general for an airborne special forces group. Mr. Hess was fiduciary attorney for the Consulates General of Germany and Austria.
Joseph Hickman
Benton attorney Joseph W. Hickman died Dec. 24 at age 86 in his home. A 1942 graduate of the St. Louis University Law School, he was a lieutenant in the Navy Air Corps in the North and South Atlantic during World War II.
Mr. Hickman practiced law with his father and an uncle, and in 1948 was elected to the first of his five terms as Franklin County state's attorney. He returned to private practice in 1968.
Leonard Hoffman
Retired judge Leonard Hoffman of Morris died Jan. 24 at age 85. A 1940 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he served in the Army during World War II and received a Bronze Star after action in the D-Day invasion.
Mr. Hoffman practiced with Root & Hoffman from 1945 until 1950, when he was elected Grundy County judge. He was elected to the 13th Circuit Court in 1954 and was appointed to the Appellate Court in 1959.
Mr. Hoffman conducted trials in Grundy, Will, Kendall, Livingston and Cook Counties. After his retirement in 1984, he chaired the board of First National Bank of Dwight.
Frank Mansfield
Retired administrative law judge Frank C. Mansfield died Jan. 3 at age 83 in his home on Amelia Island, Fla. He graduated in 1947 from the Washington University Law School after serving in the Army during World War II. He practiced law in the St. Louis area after holding management positions with several corporations.
Mr. Mansfield was a past president of the Illinois Industrial Council. He was appointed a federal administrative law judge in 1973 and retired in 2000 from the Office of Hearings and Appeals in Springfield, Mo.
Jeremiah Marsh
Chicago attorney Jeremiah Marsh, a former legislative aide to U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, died Jan. 19 at age 70 of cancer after a stroke in his Winnetka home.
A 1958 graduate of Harvard Law School, Mr. Marsh practiced with Hackbart, Rooks & Pitts in Chicago before joining the senator's staff in Washington, D.C. In 1968, he was appointed special counsel to Gov. Richard Ogilvie in establishing a state income tax and redrafting the Illinois Constitution.
Mr. Marsh returned to private practice in Chicago and was co-chair of Hopkins & Sutter before it merged with Foley & Lardner. He joined Ungaretti & Harris in 2001. He was appointed by several governors to the National Commission on Uniform State Laws.
Michael Massing
Chicago patent attorney Michael A. Massing died Feb. 2 at age 29 of injuries suffered in an automobile accident on the Kennedy Expressway.
Mr. Massing joined Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione after graduating in 2001 from the University of Illinois College of Law. He had a master's degree in materials science and engineering.
Judith Mostovy
Judith Byer Mostovy of Evanston, a trustee of the Village of Homewood from 1997 to 2001, died Jan. 8 at age 66 of ovarian cancer in the Hospice of the North Shore, Skokie.
A former biology teacher who started Homewood's first park district nursery program, Mrs. Mostovy was working with abused and needy women at the YMCA when she decided to become a lawyer.
She graduated in 1980 from The John Marshall Law School and worked with the Illinois attorney general's office and the Illinois State Labor Relations Board. She taught a class on Supreme Court decisions at Governors State University.
A former board member of the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, Mrs. Mostovy received an Illinois Women of Achievement Award. She served on the South Suburban Family Shelter board and was a past president of the South Cook section of the National Council of Jewish Women.
John Munro
Retired Chicago attorney John W. Munro, formerly of Highland Park, died Dec. 9 at age 98 in Syracuse, N.Y. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he practiced with McDermott, Will & Emery in Chicago and Hancock & Estabrook in Syracuse.
Kathleen Nooney
Chicago attorney Kathleen L. Nooney, a partner in Piper Rudnick, died Jan 4 at age 39 of cancer in Northwestern University Hospital. She was a 1990 graduate of the Washington University Law School.
Ms. Nooney practiced with Chapman and Cutler until 1995, when she moved to Rudnick & Wolfe and later became a partner in Piper Rudnick's environmental practice group in 1997. She was elected to the River Forest Park District board in 2001.
Ms. Nooney received a Distinguished Service Award in 1994 from the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation for her work on behalf of victims of domestic violence. She helped Pro Bono Advocates establish a civil order of protection desk in the 4th Municipal District Courthouse in Maywood.
In 2003 Ms. Nooney received the Alta May Hulett Award from the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women, which she helped found and served as co-chair.
Survivors include her husband John A. Coladarci and sister-in-law Anne M. Coladarci of Coladarci & Coladarci, Chicago, and brother-in-law Peter R. Coladarci.
Max Raphael
Retired Chicago attorney Max Raphael, a former partner in Hart & Raphael, died Jan. 27 at age 94 in Aventura, Fla. A 1932 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law who was born in Romania, he was a past president of B'nai B'rith.
Gregory Schlesinger
Chicago attorney Gregory J. Schlesinger, a partner in Schlesinger & Robbins, died Jan. 9 at age 55 of brain cancer in the Palliative Care Center and Hospice of the North Shore, Skokie.
A 1973 graduate of the Northwestern University School of Law, Mr. Schlesinger joined the Cook County state's attorney's office and was a senior felony trial assistant before he began a criminal defense practice in 1980 with Philip Krasny and later with Michael D. Robbins.
John Shurtleff
Riverside patent attorney John H. Shurtleff, formerly of counsel to Stack & Filpi, Chicago, died Dec. 18 at age 75 in MacNeal Hospital, Berwyn.
A 1955 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law after Army service, Mr. Shurtleff chaired the ISBA Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Section Council in 1984-85. He chaired the Copyright Committee of the Patent Law Association of Chicago three times.
He chaired the American Bar Association Committee on Industrial Design Legislation in 1988 and served on the board of Lawyers for the Creative Arts for four years.
A former trustee of the Riverside Public Library, Mr. Shurtleff also served on the village zoning commission and board of appeals.
Gerald Specter
Chicago attorney Gerald S. Specter died Jan. 31 at age 76 of cancer in St. Joseph Hospital. A 1951 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he served in the Navy at Great Lakes during World War II.