Francis Lorenz was jurist, state and county official

Retired appellate justice Francis Stanley Lorenz, who also served as Cook County treasurer and Illinois treasurer, died June 26 at age 93 of pneumonia in Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington. He had suffered a stroke in December.

A 1938 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, Mr. Lorenz became an assistant Chicago corporation counsel with eminent domain responsibility for land acquisition for O’Hare Airport, the Chicago Skyway and Eisenhower Expressway.

Years later, as director of the Illinois Department of Public Works and Buildings, he saw development of the Dan Ryan and Stevenson Expressways.

Mr. Lorenz was elected clerk of the Cook County Superior Court in 1956, and in 1958 he became county treasurer. He served as state treasurer by appointment from 1960 to 1962.

Elected to the Appellate Court in 1970, his 22 years on the bench included election as chair of the 1st District executive committee. He had mandatory retirement in 1992 at age 77.

Since then, Mr. Lorenz had been of counsel to the Crystal Lake firm of Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle. He was honored in 2007 by the McHenry County Democratic Party with a Thomas Jefferson Award for Lifetime Achievement.

George Anos

Retired Chicago attorney George J. Anos, a Westchester resident, died in June at age 82. He was a 1949 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law after service in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

A founding partner of Ash, Anos, Freedman & Logan, Mr. Anos practiced 55 years before retiring in 2005. He was a past president of the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois.

He was attorney for the Westchester Public Library, past commander of the American Legion post, and legal adviser and board member to two churches.

Mr. Anos served on several committees of the Chicago Bar Association and American Bar Association, and was a Cook County Circuit Court arbitrator.

Richard Bairstow

Retired Waukegan attorney Richard Raymond Bairstow died May 21 at age 90. He was a 1947 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law.

Mr. Bairstow studied law and was class president at George Washington University until World War II, when he commanded a tank battalion in the 16th Armored Division from Omaha Beach in Normandy through the liberation of France.

After the war, he served in the Information Control Division of the Army of Occupation and held other military positions before retiring as a colonel after 32 years.

In addition to being an assistant Lake County state’s attorney, Mr. Bairstow was the attorney for the Fox Lake Fire Protection District for 50 years, and an administrative law judge in the Department of Revenue in Chicago for 34 years.

He helped organize the Little Fort Bank and Trust Co. and served on its board. He was a past president of the Waukegan-North Chicago Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Salvation Army and the Fort Sheridan chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army.

Manly Croft

Glenview attorney Manly Robert Croft, a resident of Skokie, died in June at age 90. A 1939 graduate of The John Marshall Law School, he was president of the North Suburban Bar Association in 1976-77.

James Daly

Retired corporate attorney and philanthropist James F. Daly Sr. of Chicago, formerly of Northfield, died May 14 at age 73. A graduate of the Georgetown Law Center, he was not registered to practice in Illinois.

Mr. Daly was a legislative lobbyist and legal counsel for Montgomery Ward for more than 15 years. He was former deputy mayor of Waterbury, Conn.

Howard Darbo

Retired patent attorney Howard Helseth Darbo died July 4 at age 98 in his Carol Stream home. A 1935 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School after receiving a chemical engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1936.

Mr. Darbo was national president of Triangle Fraternity for several years, and he served on the Wheaton Police, Fire and Water Commission.

Dianne DeGrange

Retired Chicago and Indian Head Park attorney Dianne Irene Dewar DeGrange died in June at age 69. She was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1964.

Allen Freeman

Retired Cook County judge Allen Alexander Freeman died June 19 at age 92 at Bethany Terrace in Morton Grove. A 1938 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, he was in private practice before World War II.

A member of the 90th Army Infantry Division in France after D-Day, he was shot in the arm while escorting a prisoner. He received the Purple Heart, the Infantryman’s Combat Award and five battle stars.

A senior partner in Freeman & Tingler, Mr. Freeman served on the Chicago City Council from 1947 to 1959, and was a deputy Illinois attorney general from 1968 to 1971. He was elected to the circuit court in 1976.

Robert Iber

Retired Peoria attorney Robert W. Iber died May 25 at age 92 in Lutheran Hillside Village. He was a 1939 graduate of the University of South Dakota Law School.

After service as an Army sergeant during World War II, Mr. Iber and two brothers established the building construction firm of C. Iber & Sons. He was secretary-treasurer for 25 years.

Mr. Iber then worked for the Commercial National Bank for 10 years, retiring as vice president. He was a Peoria liquor commissioner and a member of the East Peoria Police and Fire Commission.

Allan Kuester

Kankakee-area attorney Allan Charles Kuester, formerly of Elgin, died June 2 at age 61 in his Bourbonnais home. A 1970 graduate of the Valparaiso University Law School, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1971.

Stanford Lambert

Retired Chicago attorney Stanford L. Lambert of Buffalo Grove died in June at age 68. A 1966 graduate of the Chicago-Kent College of Law, he was a partner in Cohn, Lambert, Ryan & Schneider.

Mercedes Laing

Former Chicago attorney Mercedes Anita Laing, director of external affairs for the Chicago Public Schools, died June 17 at age 52 of cancer in Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

A 1986 graduate of the Yale Law School, Ms. Laing was a clerk for a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. She later headed the African Trade Institute and worked on urban issues for Sen. Paul Simon.

Ms. Laing was with Holland & Knight when she went to work for the public school system in 1966. She was a board member of the Chicago Community Trust from 1996 to 2006, serving as vice chair and head of the education committee.

Herschel Lastick

Retired Chicago attorney Herschel “Harry” Lastick, a resident of the Albany Park neighborhood, died June 12 at age 96. He was a 1937 graduate of the DePaul University College of Law.

President of the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce from 1933 to 1958, Mr. Lastick received its Award of Merit in 1972. He was instrumental in establishment of a local postal service branch. He also owned Paramount Furriers for 52 years.

Erik Martin

Corporate attorney Erik Martin Latimer died June 4 at age 34 in Downers Grove. He had been with British Petroleum Legal in Winfield since 2005 and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 2007.

A 1998 graduate of the Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans, Mr. Latimer was the founder of The American Mariner, a maritime law journal. In private practice in New Orleans and Miami before joining BP, he was a member of the Maritime Law Association of the U.S.

H. Frank Middleton

Urbana attorney Hollis Frank Middleton, a partner in Middleton, Craver & Keller, died May 11 at age 85 while visiting a son in Greenville, S.C.

Mr. Middleton was an Army Air Corps lieutenant in Japan and China during World War II and was a member of the P-47 Thunderbolt Pilot’s Association. Among his awards were three Bronze Stars, an Air Medal, a Victory Ribbon and a Presidential Unit Citation.

A 1950 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law, Mr. Middleton was an assistant Champaign County state’s attorney from 1950 to 1954, and Rantoul village attorney from 1957 to 1962.

He was the founding president of Lincolnshire Fields Country Club, a founding member of the American Air Museum in England and a life member of the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum in Rantoul.

Mr. Middleton was to have been inducted into the U.S. Air Force Combat Airman Hall of Fame on Sept. 18 in Midland, Texas.

Edward Pavilon

Retired corporate attorney Edward J. (Pavilonis) Pavilon died in June at age 77. A veteran of Army service in the Korean War, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1953.

Mr. Pavilon was former vice president for taxation of South West Utilities Corp. and past chair of the Edison Electric Institute.

Charles Ruch

Bradley attorney Charles E. Ruch Jr., a 16-year member of the Kankakee County Board, died May 30 at age 56 in St. Francis Hospital. He suffered a stoke after heart surgery.

A graduate of the University of Puget Sound Law School who was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1976, Mr. Ruch was a former law partner of Dennis Baron. Each was best man in the other’s wedding.

A member of the county board from 1984, when he was a Republican, until 2000, as a Democrat, Mr. Ruch also served two years on the Kankakee County Housing Authority board.

Instrumental in establishment of the Kankakee River Valley Forest Preserve District, he was a past chair of the Kankakee River Regatta.

Marshall Ruttenberg

Former Chicago attorney Marshall Jack Ruttenberg of Kalamazoo, Mich., died in June. He was a 1961 graduate of The John Marshall Law School and a participant in Chicago Bar Association Christmas Spirits shows.

A. Richard Taft

Chicago attorney and investment banker Allen Richard Taft of Winnetka died June 6 at age 69 of cancer. A 1965 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1980.

Mr. Taft began his financial career in New York City and relocated to Chicago as an asset manager for The Chicago Corp. He founded Chesley Taft & Associates in 2000 and was its president.

Curt Whitenack

Chicago intellectual property attorney Curt James Whitenack of Park Ridge, a partner in McDonnell, Boehnen, Hulbert & Berghoff since 1996, died May 27 at age 46.

A 1991 cum laude graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Mr. Whitenack began his career with Brinks, Hofer, Gilson & Lione. He was a youth football coach and member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.