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July 2007This In Memoriam section contains brief obituaries of WSBA members. The list is not complete and contains only those notices that the WSBA has learned of through newspapers, magazine articles, trade publications, and correspondence. Additional notices will appear in subsequent issues of Bar News. Please e-mail notices or personal remembrances to inmemoriam@wsba.org. Joseph C. Bowen Joseph Bowen, a Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Elder, also known by his S’Klallam name, Stya’chin, spent his first years in the Dungeness Valley. He moved with his family to California at the age of 11 and earned his law degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu. Bowen devoted his professional life to Native American legal issues. He worked as lead counsel for the Puyallup Indian Tribe and served as superior court judge. He helped lay the foundations for Indian gaming. He was on the National Task Force on Indian Gaming and helped write the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. His daughter Chumahan writes: “He was an Indian and a cowboy, a storyteller, a romantic, a shrewd businessman and lawyer, a loyal friend, a creative thinker, and a family man. He showed all who knew him how to make life an adventure and how important it is to love your family.” Joseph Bowen died February 21, 2007, at the age of 58. Mitchell A. Broz Mitchell Broz attended the UW School of Law and became a partner in Mikkelborg Broz Wells & Fryer, the firm cofounded by his father. He was known as a man of strong intellect and ethics. His newspaper memorial notice states: “He was committed to this country and was deeply concerned about its current approach to democracy, the environment, civil liberties, and its involvement in war.” He enjoyed traveling, gardening, collecting Asian art, and studying Eastern philosophies. Mitchell Broz died April 4, 2007, at the age of 46. Thomas Dinwiddie Tom Dinwiddie came to the bar at age 35 as an Army veteran, and spent more than 30 years practicing law in Pierce County. He worked as a deputy prosecutor but was best known as a defense attorney, famous for his zeal in defending clients. Dinwiddie once said that he considered his late entry into the profession a bonus, that his life had been tempered by the same ups and downs his own clients had faced. His interests included sausage-making and brewing beer, and he once toured the country on a motorcycle. “Tom was bigger than life,” said Pierce County Prosecutor Gerry Horne. Thomas Dinwiddie died in March 2007 at the age of 66. Arthur Eggers Art Eggers moved to Walla Walla in 1955 and entered private practice. He later became a deputy prosecuting Steven Hale Steven Hale was born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Utah. He began work with the CIA in 1967 as an intelligence officer. Hale moved to Seattle in 1975 to pursue a law career. Twenty years later he joined the firm of Perkins Coie and focused on insurance law. In 2003, Hale became known for heading a legal team that represented an Eastern European couple who had agreed to spy for the U.S. behind the Iron Curtain. Hale died May 5, 2007, at the age of 63. Ray W. Hinea III Hinea served as an assistant attorney general. His friend and associate Michael Shinn said: “ Ray was an excellent ambassador for members of our bar, practicing our craft at a consistently high level of professionalism.” Ray Hinea passed away on April 5, 2007. Norm Maleng Norm Maleng was raised on a Whatcom County dairy farm, graduated from the UW in 1960, and earned a law degree from the UW in 1966. Maleng was selected to serve as staff attorney for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce. In the late 1980s, Maleng led a state task force that designed Washington’s sex offender notification system. Maleng was elected King County prosecutor in 1978, having risen through the ranks after starting as a deputy prosecuting attorney. He had led the department since, and now the office employs 240 deputy prosecutors. Maleng created a special unit in the prosecutor’s office to deal with child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence. The idea has since been copied by many other prosecutors around the nation. After 29 years at the department’s helm, Maleng oversaw the prosecution of some of the most notorious crimes in Washington history. He directed the prosecution following the 1983 Wah Mee gambling club massacre. He handled the case against David Lewis Rice, the man who killed prominent Seattle attorney Charles Goldmark, his wife, and two children on Christmas Eve. Maleng chose not to seek the death penalty in the case of Green River Killer Gary Ridgway in exchange for a full confession. Norm Maleng died after collapsing at a University of Washington event on May 24, 2007, at the age of 68. Rod Mills Mills was born on a U.S. military base in Germany and grew up in San Jose, California. He attended Oregon State University and the University of Oregon and graduated with a degree in political science. He received his J.D. from UCLA School of Law and practiced construction law in Oregon and Washington for 22 years. Mills’s passions were reading history books, golfing with his father, listening to Bruce Springsteen, traveling, and his family. He died on April 20, 2007, at the age of 49 after a courageous battle with brain cancer. His family said, “He never gave up, never lost his hair, and never lost his sense of humor.” Bob Nickels Bob Nickels was best known for his work with underprivileged children and for being the father of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Bob Nickels was born in Chicago in 1925. He received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Illinois, and a master’s in business administration from the University of Washington. In 1976, Nickels left a career at Boeing to found SCRAP (Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons), the region’s first public-defenders’ group for low-income children. “That was the big lesson to me. That was ‘follow your dream,’” said Mayor Nickels. The nonprofit practice now has 92 employees and serves 13,000 adult and child clients annually from offices in Seattle and Kent. Nickels also enjoyed collecting Northwest art and refinishing antique furniture. He died on May 13, 2007, at the age of 81. Bonita “Bonnie” L. Olson Bonnie Olson earned her law degree from the UW School of Law in 1978 and practiced law in the Seattle area for Kenney Ross St. Clair Kenney St. Clare was born in Spokane and grew up in Colville. He was a welterweight boxer when he attended Washington State University and he received his law degree from the University of Washington. St. Clair spent 40 years representing clients in personal-injury cases and other matters. He was a deputy prosecutor for Skagit County, the town attorney for LaConner, and president of the Skagit County Bar Association. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved the outdoors. St. Clair died on January 11, 2007, at the age of 71. Vernon W. Towne Vernon Towne attended the University of Washington and received his J.D. in 1937. In 1940, he accepted a job as an assistant Supreme Court reporter. In 1945, he moved to Seattle to practice law. Towne wrote the book Washington Practice, first published in 1956; it was widely used for lawyers practicing in Washington state. In 1961, he was appointed a municipal court judge and was re-elected four times. Vernon Towne died February 27, 2007, at the age of 96.
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