Obituaries

Former ISBA Director of Publications Virgil Everett Tipton Jr. passed away on Nov. 19 at Rosewood Care Center in Edwardsville. Mr. Tipton was a WWII veteran and received his journalism degree from the University of Missouri in 1948. He then moved to Springfield and began working at the State Journal-Register. He became editor of the Illinois Bar Journal in 1960, a position he held until 1982. Read the full obituary in the Springfield State Journal-Register.

Madalyn Maxwell died Saturday, November 6, 2010 at St. John’s Hospital, Springfield after a brief illness.  Ms. Maxwell was born in Nashville, Illinois on January 9, 1926, the daughter of (Illinois Supreme Court Justice) Ralph L. Maxwell and Beulah House Maxwell.  She attended schools in Urbana and Nashville, Whitworth College in Brookhaven, Mississippi, and received her law degree from the University of Illinois in Urbana.  She married Thomas H. McGary in Springfield on July 4, 1968.  He preceded her in death in 1999.

Susan H. Brandt, 59, Bloomington, died at 7:23 a.m. Tuesday (Nov. 9, 2010) at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, Normal. Susan was born Dec. 20, 1950, in Bloomington, the daughter of William R. and Jean Kuhle Brandt. Susan grew up as a member of Second Presbyterian Church and had attended the Unitarian Universalist Church, both in Bloomington. She graduated from Bloomington High School in 1969, received her B.A. degree in economics from the University of Colorado in 1973 and her J.D. from the University of Georgia in 1977. Susan was a partner at Livingston, Barger, Brandt and Schroeder Law Firm, Bloomington. She was a member of the Illinois Bar Association, the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel and the McLean County Bar Association. She also helped organize the Women’s Lawyer Association. Her memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington, with the Rev. Susan Baller-Shepard officiating. A private family burial will be in Funks Grove Cemetery, Funks Grove. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Carmody-Flynn Williamsburg Funeral Home, Bloomington. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Community Cancer Center, 407 E. Vernon Ave., Normal, IL 61761. She is survived by one son, Samuel H. Brandt, Bloomington; her father, William R.

John Theodore Karnezis, partner in the Chicago law firm Pullano & Karnezis, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday morning at LaGrange Memorial Hospital in LaGrange. "John was a highly skilled lawyer, but what made him an outstanding attorney was his compassion and empathy for his clients. He always put his clients first and would do whatever was necessary to make sure they received the best result," said Richard Pullano, partner, Pullano & Karnezis. "John loved his work, but the one thing he loved most in life was going home at the end of the day to his wife, Dena, and his twin boys, Michael and John. We will miss him greatly." John was born July 23, 1966 and grew up in the Beverly neighborhood where he attended Christ the King Grammar School (1980), Marist High School (1984), University of Illinois (1988) and Loyola University Law School where he earned his J.D. in 1991. John had attended a 30th class reunion at Christ the King the night before he died. John was the beloved husband of Dena Angela (nee Turnquist); the loving and proud father to precious twin sons, John Themis and Michael Timothy and late twin sons, Theodore and Marshall; and devoted son to the Honorable Themis (Illinois Appellate Court, First District) and Melodie Karnezis and the late Charlotte (nee Dolan). Prior to forming Pullano & Karnezis in 2009, Mr. Karnezis was a litigator at Clifford Law Offices, where he started as an associate in 2000 and advanced to partner in 2005.