The Bar News

Bar News Sections

Obituaries

  • October 12, 2010 | People
    John F. Lynn 1952-2010
    Major John Francis Lynn, USMC Retired, 58, passed away at 4:12 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010, in Herrin Hospital. He was born March 8, 1952, in Chicago, the son of William Francis and Ruth Mary (Meier) Lynn. John was united in marriage to Patty Durall on May 29, 1976, in Marion, and together they have shared the last 34 years of marriage. John answered the call of this nation by serving in the U.S. Marine Corps for three years as an enlisted member, and 20 years as an officer, retiring as a major. He served as a tank officer in California and North Carolina and was a foreign area officer in Central and South America. He was a graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale and, at the present time, served as assistant dean for Administration of SIU School of Law. John was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marion. He was a member of Illinois State Bar Association and Pro Bono Counsel for Fisher House in Chicago. He was director of the Veterans' Legal Assistance Program at SIU School of Law and spent considerable time working on behalf of local veterans. He worked with Big Brothers of Georgia, and he was a supporter of the Special Olympics.
  • October 4, 2010 | People
    Dale Allan Schempp 1942-2010
    Dale Allan Schempp, 68, passed away in his home in Springfield, at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, September 29, 2010. He was born on August 23, 1942 in Cleveland, the third child of Elmer and Blanche Schempp. He grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohioo, where he met his wife Carol Ann Samstag - they were married on December 25, 1965. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD in 1964, graduating with a degree in nuclear engineering. He then started his first career as a naval officer, serving for 6 years in the US Navy on one of the first nuclear submarines, the USS John Marshall, under Admiral Hyman Rickover. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant before being honorably discharged in 1970. He next embarked on his second career as a successful businessman. He worked as an engineer for the Quaker Oaks Company in Rockford, earning his MBA from the University of Chicago during that time. After several years, he started an independent business career as co-owner and CFO of what became TKI Foods, a manufacturer of health food products in Springfield. Following a successful business career, he began this third career as a lawyer. While still working as CFO of TKI, he completed law school at night at St. Louis University in 1996. After passing the bar exam, he then founded his own practice, Schempp Law in Springfield.
  • September 17, 2010 | People
    Daniel Chobot 1952-2010
    Daniel Chobot, 58, of Arlington Heights, passed away in his home on Saturday, Sept. 11. Mr. Chobot was an active member and past president of the Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago and practiced law in Cook County for 31 years. He was also a Harley rider, a founding member of the Chicago Horsemen, a contender in the World Series of Poker, a traveler, and a golfer. Dan was smart, funny, charming, and loved life. He was born in Chicago to Al and Elaine Chobot on January 2nd, 1952. He was the beloved husband of Brigitte, proud father of Vanessa, proud father to Heidi (Inman) and son-in-law Kevin (Inman), grandfather of Mason and Aidan (Inman), brother of Barb (Butzen), and brother to Guy (Herbert). Services have been held.
  • September 16, 2010 | People
    Molly McBride 1972-2010
    [caption id="attachment_14612" align="alignright" width="138" caption="Molly McBride"][/caption] Molly Ann (Bollman) McBride, 38, of St. Louis, formerly of Peoria, died suddenly on Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, in St. Louis. Mrs. McBride earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and a law degree from St. Louis University. She worked as an insurance defense attorney at Kortenhof McGlynn LLC for about nine years. She was born Aug. 2, 1972. She was the beloved wife of Matthew S. McBride; loving mother of Kelsea Elizabeth and Ansleigh Catherine McBride; dear daughter of Dale G. and Barbara E. Bollman; dear sister of Suzanne Ellen Brown and Matthew Arthur (Sarah) Bollman; dear aunt of Colby Brown; dear daughter-in-law of Cliff and Cheryl McBride; our dear niece, great-niece, cousin and friend. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, at Kutis City Chapel, 2906 Gravois, St. Louis. Additional visitation will be from 9 a.m. until the 10 a.m. service Saturday at Lafayette Park United Methodist Church, 2300 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis. Interment will be in St. Paul Churchyard. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Kelsea and Ansleigh McBride Education Contribution Fund, c/o Regions Bank, or Lafayette Park United Methodist Church will be appreciated.
  • September 9, 2010 | People
    James T. Foley 1931-2010
    James T. Foley, 79, died on Aug. 18 at his Bloomington home. Mr. Foley was born April 2, 1931, in Chicago, the son of Thomas and Emily Golden Foley. He married Corrine Osterland on Feb. 7, 1959, in Chicago. She survives. He graduated from St. Leo High School and the University of Notre Dame in 1953. He served with the U.S. Army in Germany and graduated from the DePaul Law School in 1958. Mr. Foley moved to Bloomington in 1959 and joined the Livingston-Barger-Brandt-Slater-Schroeder Law Firm, where he later became a partner. He practiced law in Bloomington-Normal for over 50 years and was a past city attorney, a public administrator and had served as a special assistant attorney general for the State of Illinois. His professional memberships include the McLean County Bar Association of which he was a past president, the Illinois State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He was the former McLean County Democratic Party chairman. Mr. Foley was a member of St. Patrick Church of Merna, Bloomington; Lakeside Country Club; the CCHS Booster Club; and Father John D. Ring Knights of Columbus Council 574. He was a 4th Degree Knight. He was a devoted fan of Notre Dame, the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bears.
  • August 30, 2010 | People
    Joseph R. Bartylak 1924-2010
    ISBA Laureate Award winner Joseph R. Bartylak of Alton passed away on Thursday, Aug. 26, after suffering from pneumonia. Mr. Bartylak joined the staff of the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation when it was founded in 1972. He had been staff attorney of the Legal Services Society of Madison County, one of seven organizations that combined to form LLLAF. Bartylak became the agency's executive director in 1976 and served for 27 years. He was at the helm while Land of Lincoln expanded into 65 southern Illinois counties and established several regional offices throughout its 33,OOO-square-mile service area. A 1947 graduate of the Washington University School of Law, Bartylak has been an advocate for legal services to the poor for most of his 58 years in practice. He retired from Land of Lincoln in 2003, but continued to serve the profession as the first downstate associate director of the Lawyers' Assistance Program. A past president of LAP who has served on its board for 25 years, Bartylak was a member of the ISBA Assembly and a past chair of the Committee on Delivery of Legal Services and the Committee on Public Relations. He was a Charter Fellow of the Illinois Bar Foundation, a trustee of the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice, and a past president of the Madison County Bar Association. Bartylak has received the Charles Dorsey Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the Lovejoy Human Rights Award, a Distinguished Service Award from the Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois, and the Carl H. Rolewick Award from the Lawyers' Assistance Program. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 1:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Alton.
  • August 27, 2010 | People
    Amie "Tukung" Joof 1962-2010
    [caption id="attachment_14232" align="alignright" width="174" caption="Amie Joof"][/caption] Amie "Tukung" Joof passed away recently after a long battle with cancer. Amie graduated from St. Joseph’s High School, in The Gambia West Africa, in 1979. Upon completion of her high school studies, she worked in The Gambia in the Statistics Department as a junior clerk.
  • August 25, 2010 | People
    Ray James Schoonhoven passes away
    Ray James Schoonhoven passed away at his Lake Forest home last month. Mr. Schoonhoven served in the Navy in WWII on a PT Boat in the South Pacific. He returned to Chicago after the war and received his J.D. from Northwestern Law School. He joined the law firm then called Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather and Geraldson. He was widely regarded as one of the premier management labor lawyers in the country and was a dedicated mentor to several generations of lawyers. Click here to read the full obituary
  • August 24, 2010 | People
    John R. Gelbach 1920-2010
    Longtime Lincoln attorney John R. Gelbach passed away on Monday at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. Mr. Gehlbach graduated from Beason High School in 1938 and studied for two years at the University of Illinois, where he served on the staff of the Daily Illini newspaper. He transferred to Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1942. During World War II, John spent 4½ years of Navy service for his country in the Seabees. He was on duty in the Pacific Theatre in Australia and New Guinea. While in the Navy, John studied for 8 months at the Harvard University School of Business. Discharged in 1946, he had attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After the war he enrolled at Northwestern University Law School, a member of the class of 1949, he was an editor of the Northwestern Law Review and received a bachelor of laws degree in 1949. After being admitted to the bar, Mr. Gehlbach became assistant to the general counsel for Swift & Company in Chicago until 1951 when he moved back to Lincoln to open his law firm. Family will receive friends from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., on Thursday, Aug. 26, at Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Home, 127 South Logan, Lincoln. A funeral ceremony will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 402 Pekin Street, Lincoln, Illinois on Friday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. with Father James Cravens officiating. Burial will be in Elkhart Cemetery, Elkhart. Memorial contributions may be made to Lincoln College or Trinity Episcopal Church. Read the full obituary in the Springfield State Journal-Register.
  • August 23, 2010 | People
    Clyde E. Murphy 1948-2010
    Clyde E. Murphy, a crusading civil rights attorney who won a Supreme Court case on behalf of African-American firefighter applicants, passed away on Aug. 17 at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago. Services have been held. In his 35-year legal career, first with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and more recently as executive director of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Mr. Murphy handled employment discrimination, affirmative-action, police misconduct and housing bias cases. His pivotal achievement came this year when the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal judge's ruling that the city of Chicago discriminated against a group of more than 6,000 African-American applicants who took the 1995 firefighter entrance exam. Read the full obituary in the Chicago Tribune