In Memoriam

The Honorable Samuel Alphonso Hall ’41

The Honorable Samuel Alphonso Hall ’41 died at home surrounded by family on December 18, 2013. He was 98.

Born August 12, 1915, on a homestead near Higley, Arizona, Sam grew up in and near Fresno, California, the fifth of six children. His youth was spent working to help support the family through manual labor on farms and in vineyards and packing plants. He dug canals with a horse team, and worked in the woods with the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1935, Sam moved to Portland and went to work for Purdy Paint Brush Company in St. Johns. He became a leader in his union. In 1937, he began attending law school in the evening. (His was the last class eligible to enter with only a high school diploma.) Sam attributed his desire to become a lawyer to some of the events of the times, but specifically credited a high school agriculture teacher who taught and encouraged public speaking.

Sam was admitted to the Oregon Bar in September of 1941, but within a few months, his career was halted by World War II. Like many others, he closed his law practice and joined the U.S. Army. While stationed at Drew Field in Florida, Sam met Jeanie Margaret Trice through a dinner invitation. They wrote each other almost daily for the two years Sam was overseas; he proposed and she accepted in these letters. They were married in her parent’s home in Tampa, Florida, on July 5, 1944.

After his discharge in October of 1945, Sam and Jeanie returned to Portland, where he worked with the city attorney’s office and in private practice. In 1948, Sam joined the Oregon Attorney General’s Office and the family moved to Salem. Assigned to litigation, he tried cases in nearly every county in Oregon. He was then appointed statutory counsel for the State Highway Commission.

In early 1951, Sam accepted an invitation to move to Brookings, Oregon, opening a private practice with retainers from local mills and the newly established plywood manufacturing cooperative. Sam wore many hats: He was the first city attorney for the newly incorporated town of Brookings, a school board member, the district attorney for Curry County, and in 1960 he was elected district court judge, serving for 20 years before retiring.

Sam pioneered one of the first alternative sentencing programs in Oregon, based on an experimental program he had studied. Even before being elected to the district court, he had served as a circuit court judge pro tem and continued to do so while maintaining his district court, returning to preside over trials in Portland, Eugene, and Klamath Falls each year. He practiced law one last year in Eugene with son Samuel Hall Jr. ’76 before fully retiring in 1982.

Sam was a role model for generations of family and friends. In addition to being an attorney, trial lawyer, and judge, he was knowledgeable in numerous fields and continued to take courses on varied subjects into his 90s. While still in his early 60s, he was inspired by his youngest son, Richard, to start running; Sam ran in numerous long distance races for over 20 years, including almost all of the Portland Cascade Runoffs, retiring his running shoes only in his early 80s. He was also a model citizen. One of Sam’s early roles in Brookings-Harbor was to help establish the rural volunteer fire district, serving as its chair. After retiring from law, he returned to the district as a volunteer firefighter, continuing to serve into his early 90s. In 2000, he and Jeanie were honored as Pioneer Citizens for the annual Brookings-Harbor Azalea Festival.

Sam was devoted to Jeanie, who preceded him in death on April 4, 2002. They were married 58 years. He was an equally devoted father. Sam is survived by his six sons and their families (Sam Jr ’76 and Donna; William; Arthur and Charlotte; Nelson ’85 and Patti; Edward and Colette; and Richard and Gayle); 17 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; 12 great-great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews in Oregon, California, and Florida.

Lester L. Rawls ’62

Lester L. Rawls ’62, a respected attorney who headed both the Oregon State Bar and the OSB Professional Liability Fund, died September 12, 2013, in Lewiston, Idaho. He was 85.

Lester was born February 8, 1928, in Mabton, Washington. He served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific theater during World War II and in Japan during the subsequent occupation. On his return, Lester attended Willamette University, Pacific University, and Lewis & Clark College, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting before attending law school.

Lester entered private practice in 1963. In 1972, he was appointed by Governor Tom McCall as Oregon’s insurance commissioner and served in that capacity until 1977. While commissioner, he was appointed to the National Association on Malpractice and served on the American Bar Association Special Committee on Professional Liability. Lester was elected chair of the executive committee of the NAIC in 1976 and in 1977 he was elected president of the NAIC.

In 1978, Lester was hired by the Oregon State Bar to organize and administer the Professional Liability Fund. At the same time, he was the interim executive director for the Oregon State Bar. While at the Professional Liability Fund, he pioneered a program addressing alcohol/drug dependency through rehabilitation services, which has become a national model for other state bar associations.

Lester married Jean Stephenson in 1951. They had three children and divorced after 29 years of marriage. In 1983, he wed Elizabeth (Libby) Johnson. After retirement, Lester and Libby moved to Lewiston, where he was active in politics and community affairs.

Lester is survived by his wife, Libby; two sons; two daughters; and grandchildren.

William O. Bassett ’68

William O. Bassett ’68 passed away on October 24, 2013, surrounded by family.

William was born on May 13, 1930, to Alton John Bassett and Elizabeth Marie O’Brien in Portland. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1948 and the University of Oregon in 1953, joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1954.

In 1954, William married Barbara Hawkins. Together they had five children: Shelby, Lisa, Mark, Darcy, and Bryn Marie, who died in infancy. In 1973, he married Carolyn Jean Flink, who passed away in 1997, leaving William a stepdaughter, MK Menard. He married Betty Kehoe in 1999, who cared for him until the end.

William enjoyed practicing law until his retirement in 2008. He loved laughter, sports, music, and the presence of good company. In his finals days, he faced his short illness with dignity, heart, and, of course, wicked humor.

In addition to his children and wife, Betty, William is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Dottie and Ron Daniels; brother, John Patrick Bassett; three sons-in-law; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sister, Barbara, and brother, Michael.

Yvonne Stevenson Osredkar ’79

Yvonne Stevenson Osredkar ’79 passed away on September 5, 2013, at age 62.

Yvonne was born March 4, 1951, in Portland. She graduated from Marshall School High School in 1969 and Portland State University in 1974.

Yvonne practiced family law with Herb Trubo for several years after law school, but worked for State Farm in Oregon, Hawaii, and Washington for the majority of her career. After retiring from State Farm, she found a job she loved with the state of Oregon, first helping the Occupational Therapy Licensing Board and then as an investigator for the Veterinarian Board.

Yvonne enjoyed discussing literature and opera. Though she had many artistic hobbies, she will be most dearly remembered for the deep and sincere friendships she developed and maintained over the years. She is survived by her husband, Tom; a brother; five stepdaughters; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Robert J. Neuberger ’80

Robert J. Neuberger ’80 passed away November 30, 2013, after a four-year battle with cancer. He was 60 years old.

Born August 6, 1953, in Baker City, Oregon, Robert graduated from Baker High School and Colorado College. During his career, he practiced with plaintiff firms Green, Griswold & Neuberger, and Pozzi Wilson Atchison.

Robert is survived by his son, Stuart Neuberger, and his sisters, Roz Neuberger and Pat Neuberger.

David C. Slade ’81

David C. Slade ’81 of Bowie, Maryland, passed away peacefully on December 7, 2013, surrounded by his family.

David was a leading lawyer in the field of environmental law. He authored several books on the law of navigable waters and was involved in many key constitutional law cases relating to the Public Trust Doctrine decisions. David served as chief counsel to the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, and as general counsel and director of the Coastal States Organization in Washington, D.C. He testified before Congress on topics ranging from fisheries, environmental law, and constitutional law to international law and affairs.

Lewis & Clark Law School honored him with a Distinguished Graduate Award in 1999.

David was an accomplished lecturer, author, jazz piano player, and sailor. He founded and served as chair for 30 years for the SladeChild Foundation Charitable Trust. David used his love of jazz to promote the SladeChild Foundation through the many Dance Night Out and Jazz Piano Night musical events in the Washington, D.C., area, raising money to support the SladeChild Projects. Donations to SladeChild Foundation in his memory would be greatly appreciated.

Monica Smith ’82

Monica Smith ’82 passed away on October 9, 2013, at age 62, after living well with cancer for four years.

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Monica grew up as the fifth of eight siblings. After earning a BA in English language and literature from the University of Chicago, she spent several years working at a variety of jobs, including packing crabs in Alaska, waiting tables, keeping bees, counseling migrant workers, and teaching English as a second language. She also studied Spanish and travelled extensively in Latin America.

Experience with a bad employer eventually convinced Monica to take her father’s advice to become a lawyer. At Lewis & Clark, she served as an associate editor ofEnvironmental Law, was named a member of the Cornelius Honor Society, and graduated cum laude.

Monica joined the firm of Kulongoski, Heid, Durham & Drummonds, the leading public-sector labor law firm in Oregon. There she had the opportunity to represent unions of all sizes and employees in a wide range of fields, including education employees, fire fighters, state and county employees, stagehands, patternmakers, and restaurant workers, as well as the Oregon AFL-CIO. Monica continued in private practice for 26 years, during which time she formed the firm of Smith, Gamson, Diamond & Olney. In 2008 she left private practice and joined the staff of the Oregon Education Association. She served as OEA’s statewide collective bargaining coordinator until her death, proudly supporting the cause of public education through the empowerment of education employees.

Monica received a lifetime achievement award from Lewis & Clark in 2013. (For this story, please see page 23 of the spring 2013 issue of theAdvocate.)

Monica was a singer, gardener, swimmer, and bicyclist. She served as a member of the OSB House of Delegates, the Affirmative Action Committee, the Legal Ethics Committee, the Executive Committee of the Labor Law Section, and as a panel member for the Fee Arbitration Program. Monica was always active in her community, serving for more than 20 years as a member of the board of the Willamette Valley Law Project, which supports farmworker education and service programs in the Willamette Valley. She also served on the board of the Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), and was an active volunteer in Portland Public Schools.

Monica is survived by her husband of 28 years, Jeremy Sarant ’82, and the treasures of her life, her children Melibea and Mateo Sarant. She is also survived by her seven siblings, in-laws, numerous cousins, and loving nieces and nephews.

Wayne Gordon “Kelly” Clark III BA ’80, JD ’83

Wayne Gordon “Kelly” Clark III BA ’80, JD ’83 died surrounded by family members and loved ones at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, on December 17, 2013. He was 56.

Kelly was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on August 9, 1957. He received both his bachelor’s degree in political science and his law degree from Lewis & Clark, and he served as a Republican state representative in Oregon from 1989 to 1993.

In his law practice, Kelly fought for childhood victims of sexual abuse, bringing and winning cases against the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Boy Scouts of America. His biggest victory came in 2010 while representing an Oregon man who was molested by a Scout leader in the 1980s. He filed a lawsuit alleging that the Boy Scouts of America knew of sex abuse within the organization and had done little to stop it.

Kelly’s wife, the former Sabine Moyer, died on October 21 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He is survived by a daughter from a previous marriage, Katherine McDougall; a stepdaughter, Olivia Moyer; a sister, Dixie Lee Samuels; and a brother, Clancy.