[caption id="attachment_20768" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Judge Lois Bell"][/caption] Lois Arlene Bell, 49, of Winchester, passed away Saturday afternoon, July 2, 2011, at her home. She was born July 4, 1961, in Savanna, the daughter of the late Roger W. and Grace Schaible Bell. Lois graduated from United Township High School in East Moline in 1979 and obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1982. She then attended the University of Illinois College of Law obtaining her Juris Doctorate in May 1985. She was admitted to practice law and engaged in private practice of law from 1985 until 2002 in Winchester, primarily as Bell & Mann Law Offices with Richard E. Mann. While in practice she represented many individuals, banks, municipalities and other districts. In November 2002, Lois was elected Resident Circuit Court Judge for Scott County, a position she continued to hold. As Judge she presided over cases in Scott, Greene, Morgan, Jersey, Macoupin and Sangamon Counties. She was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, ABA and PAD, and was a supported of Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation. She attended Lake Presbyterian Church in Osage Beach, Mo. Lois enjoyed traveling, boating on the Illinois river and Lake of the Ozarks, golfing, swimming, cooking, photography, gardening, reading and computers.
Obituaries
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July 5, 2011 |
People
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June 29, 2011 |
People
Longtime Chicago defense attorney William A. Barnett has passed away after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 94. Barnett was a lifelong resident of Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. He received his undergraduate and J.D. degrees from Loyola University Chicago. He enlisted in the in the military shortly after passing the bar in 1941. He served in the counterintelligence corps. Barnett first came to prominence in 1958 as the lead assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Chicago mobster Paul "The Waiter" Ricca for tax evasion. He moved on to defense work and won an acquittal for former Gov. William G. Stratton on tax evasion charges. He also played a lead role in the defense of former Illinois Attorney General William Scott in 1980. "You couldn't ask for anything better in a lawyer than Bill Barnett," said Thomas P. Sullivan, the former U.S. attorney and current partner at Jenner & Block LLP. "He was a splendid lawyer and more importantly he was a splendid human being -- honorable, reliable, direct, forthright."
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June 14, 2011 |
People
[caption id="attachment_20058" align="alignright" width="120" caption="James B. Wham"][/caption] ISBA Laureate James B. "Jim" Wham, 92, died May 20, 2011, in Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was a trial lawyer, practicing his entire career at Wham and Wham Attorneys in Centralia. A Laureate of the ISBA Academy of Lawyers, Wham actually was the inspiration for establishment of the Academy. His rousing speech at the 1998 Annual Meeting in St. Louis, where he received the General Practice Section Tradition of Excellence Award, led Cheryl I. Niro to implement the Laureate program during her presidency the following year. He was a veteran in World War II. He is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and his daughters, Sarah Cary and Jennifer Price, and his brother, William B. Wham. Services have been held. Sign the online guestbook at thesouthern.com.
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June 14, 2011 |
People
[caption id="attachment_20052" align="alignright" width="148" caption="Michael J. Martin"][/caption] Michael J. Martin, age 51; beloved husband of Karen Martin, nee Cecka; loving father of Kevin Michael Martin, James K. Martin and John R. Martin; dear son of Kenneth J. and H. Jane Martin; cherished brother of Therese A. (Mark) Hansen and James E. (Peggy) Martin; fond uncle of many nieces and nephews. Visitation Thursday 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Funeral Friday 9:15 AM from Adams-Winterfield & Sullivan Funeral Home, 4343 Main St. (1 blk. S. of Ogden) Downers Grove to St. Mary of Gostyn Church. Mass 10:00 AM. Interment Private. Memorials to Chicago Youth Programs, 5350 S. Prairie Ave., Chicago, IL 60615 or www.chicagoyouthprograms.org are appreciated. More information at 630-968-1000 or www.adamswinterfieldsullivan.com
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June 8, 2011 |
People
[caption id="attachment_19966" align="alignright" width="124" caption="Charles W. Chapman"][/caption] Former Madison County circuit judge and appellate court justice Charles W. Chapman passed away last month at his home in Edwardsville. He was a name partner in the law firm LakinChapman LLC in Wood River. Chapman served as Circuit Judge in the Third Judicial Circuit of Madison County from 1979 to 1988. He was elected in 1988 to the Appellate Court for the Fifth Judicial District, Mt. Vernon, Illinois and served until 2001. Madison County Circuit Judge Andy Matoesian recalls when Chapman ran against him, but they still were close friends. "He was a hell of a nice guy. He was a good book man and a good trial lawyer," Matoesian said. Chapman earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and a doctor of jurisprudence from St. Louis University in 1967. He completed his coursework for a master's degree in economics in 1980 and a master of law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1992. Read the full obituary in the Alton Telegraph. Read the obituary by ISBA Member John J. Hopkins in the Madison St. Clair Record
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June 7, 2011 |
People
[caption id="attachment_19882" align="alignright" width="137" caption="Richard Manzella"][/caption] Richard M. “Rich” Manzella, 45, Normal, passed away on June 2 at Heartland Health Care Center in Normal, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Born Oct. 6, 1965, in Chicago, he was the son of Richard and Cathy Manzella. He married Veronica Harcar on June 15, 1996, at St. Stephen’s Church, Streator. She survives in Normal. He is also survived by his children, Matthew and Jennifer Manzella, Normal; his mother, Cathy Manzella-Hensley, Joliet; sisters, Lorrie (Grady) Bourland, Plainfield, and Julie (Ward) McCloskey, Marseilles; a brother, Joe (Linda) Manzella, Escondido, Calif.; maternal grandmother, Loretta Koren, Bolingbrook; father and mother-in-law, Andrew R. and Maria Harcar, Streator; a sister-in-law, Theresa (Tim) Graves, Streator; a brother-in-law, Andy Harcar, Streator; nieces and nephews, Emma Graves, Kyle McCloskey, Karlee McClosky, Miranda Bourland and Cody Bourland; a great-niece, Taylor Bourland; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his father, Richard Manzella Sr.; stepfather, Paul Hensley Sr.; maternal grandfather, John Koren; paternal grandparents, Frank and Josephine Manzella; and an uncle, Frank Gluting. Rich was a 1984 graduate of Romeoville High School and a 1988 graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received a bachelor of science degree in psychology.
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May 26, 2011 |
People
Judge Christy S. Berkos passed away on May 10th, 2011 at the age of 85. Berkos was a WWII Navy Veteran, the former Town of Cicero Attorney, Town of Cicero President & Criminal Court Judge of Cook County. He was the beloved husband of Rita nee, Peacock, loving father of Cindy (Joel) Erickson, Daniel (Julie), & Kimberly (John) Kinnas; dear grandfather of Shane (Tim) Drey & Eric Sanford; uncle of many nieces & nephews.
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May 13, 2011 |
People
[caption id="attachment_19475" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Charles Flack"][/caption] Charles "Chick" Flack, 83, passed away last month at Wesley Village Rehabilitation Center in Macomb. Mr. Flack attended Macomb schools and graduated from Northwester University in 1951 and Northwestern University Law School in 1954. He joined his father and George B. Kerman in the practice of law in 1954 and practiced until his retirement from Flack, McRaven and Stephen's in 1997. Mr. Flack served in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard the carrier USS Enterprise and USS Midway. Read the full obituary in the McDonough Voice.
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April 27, 2011 |
People
[caption id="attachment_19056" align="alignright" width="120" caption="Dorothy W. Spomer"][/caption] Southern Illinois lost a legal pioneer on Saturday, April 23. Dorothy Wilbourn Spomer, 90, passed away in Cape Girardeau. Dorothy held the distinction of being the first woman judge in Southern Illinois, having been elected Alexander County Judge in 1950 and later Circuit Judge. After 27 years, she retired from the bench, only to soon be appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to become the first female to sit on the Fifth District Appellate Court. She left the court in 1980 and joined the practice of law with her husband, W.C. Spomer. They practiced as Spomer and Spomer until 1992. Judge Spomer graduated at the age of 22 with honors from the University of Illinois School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. Her first case after law school was with her father, attorney Asa Wilbourn, before the Supreme Court, where she argued and won an election contest lawsuit. During her judicial career, Judge Spomer heard cases throughout Southern Illinois and garnered the reputation as a principled, fair-minded jurist. Quiet and demur, she led by example. Always prepared and proficient in shorthand, it was not unusual for her notes to rival those of the court reporter. In 2009, she was a recipient of Southern Illinois University's Inspiring Women of Achievement Award.
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April 19, 2011 |
People
Robert G. Kirchner, 54, of Urbana passed away on Sunday, April 17. He was a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and had practiced in Champaign County for more than two decades. "He was unique among the Champaign County Bar for how aggressive he was, what a bulldog he was," says fellow attorney Tom Bruno. "We lawyers have an ethical obligation to act in the best interests of our clients, and he would do anything to fulfill that obligation." Funeral arrangements are pending at Renner-Wikoff Chapel and Crematory, 1900 Philo Road, Urbana. Read the full obituary in the Champaign News-Gazette
