June 2005

In Memoriam

Bradley T. Jones

Known for his sharp mind and infectious sense of humor, Bradley Jones was a founding partner of the Howe, Davis, Reese & Jones law firm — now known as Davis Wright Tremaine — retiring in 1990 after 38 years of practice.

Jones graduated from the University of Washington School of Law in 1941, and then joined the firm he would call home for the rest of his legal career. He married (having turned down a Rhodes Scholarship) and later shipped off to the Pacific to serve with the U.S. Army in World War II. After the war, he moved to Mount Vernon with his family to serve as vice president of Pictsweet Foods, then returned to his law firm in 1956. He served as president of the Seattle-King County Bar Association, and later the Washington State Bar Association from 1980-1981.

Jones's practice focused on business law, and many of his clients were in the food-processing and building-materials industries.

"He was a professional's professional," said Jim Judson, his former law partner. "He was good at bringing in clients and exercising good judgment. He was recognized by his peers as a quality lawyer and a quality person."

At his retirement dinner, Jones reminisced about his legal career, and said what he remembered most fondly were not the intricacies of the deals made or victories won, but the lasting relationships he had built with his colleagues and clients.

"He instilled in me the understanding that the client comes first," said attorney Parry Grover, to whom Jones was both a friend and a mentor. "As long as you're behaving ethically you can't go wrong. That's what he instilled in the young lawyers around him."

Jones is survived by two sons, Tyler and Robert; a daughter, Carolyn Dewald; and five grandchildren. His wife, Phyllis, preceded him in death.

Bradley Jones was born in South Dakota, June 24, 1917, and died April 8, 2005, aged 87.

Michael H. Rosen

Graduating from Fordham Law School in 1964, Michael Rosen couldn't wait to leave New York, and moved to Seattle the same day he took his final law school exam, where he lived the rest of his life.

Rosen spent the summer of 1965 working for the civil rights group Lawyers Constitutional Defense Committee in Jackson, Mississippi, and later as a staff attorney and then executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

Rosen cofounded the Abused and Betrayed Children's Defense and Education Fund (ABCDEF). Partially funded by his own lawyer fees, ABCDEF supported projects that aided and protected the rights of abused women in Washington state.

Rosen is survived by his wife, Annie; his brother, Kenneth; two sons, Darrek and Joshua; his daughter, Caitlin; and two grandchildren. The family asks that tax-deductible donations be sent to the ACLU of Washington Foundation: 705 Second Ave., Ste. 300, Seattle, 98104.

Michael Rosen was born in New York City, June 6, 1938, and died April 19, 2005, aged 66. 
 
Kim C. Pflueger

Kim Pflueger, a devoted family man, displayed a passion for the little joys in life — listening to music, tending his garden, maintaining his ever-expanding wine cellar, and, most of all, riding his beloved Vespa on sunny days.

Pflueger, a graduate of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science and the University of Washington School of Law, was a partner with Floyd & Pflueger.

Pflueger is survived by his wife, Virginia; his two sons, Max and Nathan; his mother; his sister, Joan Strentz; and many beloved friends and colleagues.  Remembrances may be made in Pflueger's name to establish a memorial fund at the University of Washington School of Law. Send to: Floyd & Pflueger, P.S., 300 Trianon Building, 2505 Third Ave., Seattle, 98121.

Kim Pflueger was born in Ortonville, Minnesota, February, 2, 1954, and died on April 8, 2005, aged 51.

Russell A. Austin Jr.

Russell Austin Jr. was born in Seattle, March 4, 1930, and died on February 12, 2005, aged 74. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Ann Fortnum.

George A. Ferrell

A graduate of Benjamin Franklin High School in Portland, Oregon, George Ferrell received his Bachelor's degree from Portland State University in 1984 and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puget Sound Law School (now Seattle University) in 1989.

Ferrell was a partner at Bogle & Gates and later at Dorsey & Whitney. In 2001, Ferrell opened his own practice, George Ferrell, P.C. He had served as an adjunct professor at Seattle University School of Law since 2000. Ferrell loved golf, cycling, music and art, and spending time with his family. Donations may be sent to the George A. Ferrell Memorial Fund at the American Heart Association, 1280 S. Parker Rd., Denver, CO 80231, or visit www.americanheart.org.

Ferrell is survived by his wife, SungMi "Tracy" Ferrell; his mother, Glorya M. Ferrell; sisters, Ann Franze, Bryce Brendle, and Melinda Smith; and his brother, Stephen Elliott.  

George Ferrell was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon on June 8, 1962, and died April 20, 2005, aged 42.

Howard E. Phillips

Howard Phillips attended the University of Washington and received his teaching degree from State Normal School in Cheney. He became a teacher with the Okanogan School District in 1926, where he taught in a two-room schoolhouse in Riverside and coached the basketball team.

Phillips received his J.D. from Gonzaga Law School in 1934, returning to Odessa that same year to open his law practice, eventually serving as prosecuting attorney for Lincoln County from 1939 to 1943.

Working with the late Washington State Senator W. C. Raugust, Phillips helped establish the Odessa Veterans Memorial Hospital, one of the first rural hospitals in the state and the first in the Inland Empire. He retired in 1987, after practicing law for more than 50 years.

Phillips was preceded in death by his wife, Juanita, and their children Neal and Sandra. He is survived by their remaining children, Suzanne Huff, Nancy Burris, Kathleen Kennell, and Ned Phillips.

Howard E. Phillips was born in Odessa on July 14, 1907, and died on November 30, 2004, aged 97. 

John L. Valentine

John Valentine was born on February 18, 1945, and died on March 18, 2005, at Johns Hopkins Weinberg Cancer Center in Baltimore, Maryland. He is survived by his wife, Cleosa, two sons, two daughters, two grandsons, three brothers, and 10 sisters. Memorial contributions may be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 51 Locust Ave., Ste. 201, New Canaan, CT 06840.

Harvard Palmer

At Broadway High School in Seattle, Harvard Palmer's rich bass singing voice made him one of the more popular singers in the Broadway A Capella Choir, and later became an instrument that could intimidate business adversaries.

Despite winning accolades for his singing, Palmer decided to pursue the law, and graduated from the University of Washington Law School in 1940. He got his first job working for the law firm of Falknor, Emory & Howe on bank-related cases, and later joined the trust division of Seattle First National Bank. In 1970, he left the bank to become vice president of Clise Properties.

Palmer was a dedicated family man and sailor who felt most at peace working on his boats. He is survived by his sons, Harvard Jr. and Greg. His wife of 50 years, Gertrude, preceded him in death.

Harvard Palmer was born in Carlinville, Illinois, on September 17, 1914, and died on April 15, 2005, aged 90.

Alfred J. Bianchi

The son of Italian immigrants and an attorney for more than five decades, Alfred Bianchi's roots were deep in Seattle's Italian community, and he was a minor celebrity in the city's legal circles. Bianchi could have lived anywhere in Seattle, but chose instead to live in the same small two-bedroom house in the Rainier Valley in which he was born.

Bianchi attended neighborhood schools and Seattle University before his education was interrupted by military service. After his discharge, he returned to school and graduated from Gonzaga Law School in 1951.

Bianchi began as a deputy King County prosecutor. Then came a job as an assistant state attorney general in Seattle, followed by a long and storied career as a trial attorney with his own law firm. Always a proud and active member of the local Italian community, Bianchi was for many years president of the Italian Benevolent Society. 
He is survived by his son, George; a daughter, Paula; three grandchildren; and his ex-wife, Anabel Jensen Bianchi, with whom he remained close.

Alfred Bianchi was born in Seattle on December 19, 1921, and died on March 29, 2005, aged 83.

John T. Gorrell

A graduate of the University of Texas and Baylor Law School, John "Jack" Gorrell spent his final years in Washington. He lived in Port Townsend for 15 years, where he spent much of his time building sailboats, and then moved to Port Angeles in 1994 to open the Swan Café, finally settling in Seattle in 1996.

He is survived by his life partner, Michael Maxwell; his sister, Jane Glass; his niece, Katy Stansifer; and his nephew, Jerry Glass.

John Gorrell was born in Odessa, Texas, on April 7, 1937, and died on March 28, 2005, aged 67.

Nelson T. Lee

Nelson Lee attended the University of Washington while working in the Seattle shipyards, eventually earning a law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. In 1945, he cofounded the law firm of Lee, Smart, Cook, Martin & Patterson. He practiced law in Seattle for 39 years.

For the past 40 years, Lee lived and ranched in Bothell, and spent the winter months in Yuma, Arizona. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Atha; their children, Mike, Diana, Thomas, and Darrell; and 10 grandchildren.

Nelson Lee was born in Pontiac, Illinois, on March 7, 1920, and died on December 13, 2004, aged 84.

Edward D. Jones

This remembrance was sent in by Jones's close personal friend of 60 years, Robert C. Bibb.

Edward Jones was the epitome of the small-town lawyer and community leader in Stanwood for 50 years. Jones hopped a freight train from his home in Illinois to Washington in 1933, at the depths of the depression. He worked in the wheat and apple harvests, winding up in Stanwood where he found work in Alaska fish canneries and then on a halibut schooner. He enlisted in the Marines after Pearl Harbor and served from Guadalcanal to Iwo Jima, where he was wounded and received the Silver Star. He had attended the University of Washington in 1939, and entered the law school upon returning from World War II, graduating and starting a solo general practice in Stanwood in 1950. He married Katherine in 1947, and they raised five children during their 57 years together. He was a lover of vocal music, everything from opera to barbershop quartets.

From the beginning, Jones immersed himself in the affairs of the community as well as developing his practice. He was Stanwood city attorney for many years, a founder of the Stanwood-Camano Area Foundation, and served the Stanwood community as well as Snohomish County in many capacities, typical of small-town lawyers at the time.

Edward Jones died in his home on Camano Island on October 1, 2004, aged 89.

H. Frank Stubbs

During Word War II, Frank Stubbs served his country as a B-24 bomber pilot. After the war, he earned his law degree in 1948 from the UW. In 1949, he commenced his lifelong career as an accomplished trial attorney, and established his practice in Tacoma in 1951. Stubbs loved practicing law, primarily because of his unyielding dedication and passion for helping people in need. He proudly and honorably represented thousands of injured workers and other injured persons for over 50 years. He was a true champion and pioneer in the fight for the protection of his clients' rights and the pursuit of justice. Stubbs will be remembered for his remarkable intelligence, compassion, generosity, energy, and respect for the dignity of all people.

Stubbs is survived by his wife, Joy, seven children, three sisters, one brother, seven grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

H. Frank Stubbs was born in Lilooet, British Columbia, in 1924, and died in Tacoma on March 16, 2005.