In Memoriam

The following Loyola Law School alumni passed away in 2011 and 2012.

Hon. Lynn “Buck” D. Compton ’49, a World War II veteran portrayed by actor Neal McDonough in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers, passed away on February 25, 2012 at home in Burlington, WA.  Two months prior to his passing, 200 guests, including actors from the miniseries, attended his 90th birthday party.  Before joining the Army in 1943, Compton was Jackie Robinson’s teammate on both the baseball and football teams at the University of California, Los Angeles.  Compton competed in the Rose Bowl. While in the service, Compton fought in the Battle of the Bulge and earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.  Following the war, Compton attended Loyola Law School as a night student while working as a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department.  From Loyola, Compton rose to prominence as the Los Angeles deputy district attorney who led the prosecution of Sirhan B. Sirhan for the murder of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In 1970, then-California Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him to the California Court of Appeals.  Compton is survived by his daughters Tracy and Syndee and four grandchildren.

Robert G. Helm ’51, a native Southern Californian, passed away on February 16, 2012.  Helm served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II and was severely injured in Okinawa, Japan, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart.  A self-employed attorney, Helm practiced for 50 years, devoting much of his time to pro bono work and serving as a judge pro tem.  Among his favorite pastimes was motorcycle riding, spending four to six weeks a year traveling the United States and Canada.  Helm was a member of the Escondido Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the San Marcos Lutheran Church board of directors.  In celebration of his 75th birthday, he toured the Alps by motorcycle for six weeks, and later the same year, traveled New England for another six weeks.  Helm is survived by his three daughters, Diane, Paula and Donna, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. 

Thomas E. Garcin ’52 of Rancho Santa Fe, CA has passed away.  No further information is available at this time.

Maxwell S. Keith ’52 died on March 6, 2012 in Templeton, CA. Prior to graduating from Loyola Law School, Keith served as a bombardier in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Keith defended two members of the so-called “Manson family,” Leslie Van Houten and Charles “Tex” Watson, after their previous lawyer mysteriously disappeared during their notorious cult murder trials.  Keith was appointed to the case six months after the trial had begun, and his assertion was that Van Houten and Watson had both been brainwashed by Manson―this was recognized as one of the best defense arguments in Vincent Bugliosi’s Helter Skelter.  Keith succeeded in reversing Van Houten’s conviction in 1976 (however, Van Houten was convicted after her third trial in 1978). In 1994, Keith received the Joseph Rosen Justice Award from the Los Angeles Criminal Courts Bar Association.  He is survived by his wife Allison, four daughters, two sons, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Hon. Loren Miller, Jr. ’62, a native Californian and the second of three generations of the Millers to serve on the bench in California, died on December 5, 2011.  From October 2011 until his passing, Miller was assigned to the Huntington Park Courthouse.  According to the Hon. John V. Meigs ’78, Judge Miller “was a well-respected judge, a great colleague and a valuable contributor to our court.”  After graduating from Loyola, Judge Miller began his legal career as a deputy attorney general, and for six years specialized in civil rights and tax cases.  He later worked as director of litigation for the Western Center on Law and Poverty and practiced privately before becoming a senior attorney for Pacific Lighting Corp.  Judge Miller was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court by Gov. Jerry Brown in 1975 and elevated to the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles in 1977. Up to his retirement in 1997, Judge Miller handled a number of assignments, including supervising judge in Pomona, CA and he continued to be assigned to cases up to last fall.  Judge Miller’s father was the renowned Judge Loren Miller, who won many civil right cases as an attorney, and his daughter is the Honorable Robin Miller Sloan  He is also survived by his wife Gwen Allain Miller, son Michael L. Miller, a public defender, daughters Robin and  Nina Miller, a school teacher and stepchildren Pamela, Stephanie and Greg—as well as two grandchildren and two step-granchildren.  He will be remembered by colleagues as a true egalitarian and a brilliant, big-hearted and kind person.

George E. Morrow ’62 died at home in San Gabriel, CA on February 1, 2012.  Originally of Columbus, NE, Morrow was a student at the University of Notre Dame before joining the U.S. Air Force as a pilot in World War II, attaining the rank of major and receiving a medal for meritorious service. After the war, Morrow completed his studies at the University of Nebraska, moved to Los Angeles, and began his 28-year career with the trust department at Union Bank.  While at Union, Morrow attended Loyola Law School’s Evening Program.  Upon his retirement from the bank as senior vice president, Morrow opened his own law practice in Pasadena, CA, specializing in estate planning.  Morrow was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Serra Club, and served as an active member of  St. Therese Parish in Alhambra, CA.  Morrow also served as the executive director of a family foundation.  Morrow is survived by his wife of 63 years Marguerite, his daughter Margaret, and a grandson.

Howard A. McIntosh ’65 of Monterey Park, CA died April 25, 2012.  He was 96.  McIntosh’s life spanned pivotal events of the 20th Century–Prohibition, The Great Depression, WWII and the new Millennium.  McIntosh was born in Brooklyn, MO, the seventh of nine children, and grew up on the family farm.  Educated in a one-room schoolhouse, he put himself through college and worked as a teacher and later a principal in Missouri and Iowa. During World War II, Howard was a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, serving as a navigator on a B-19 Bomber. After the war, he joined the Air Force Reserve where he served until his retirement at the age of 60 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.  McIntosh worked for H&R Block and upon attaining his law degree practiced family law. His favorite pastimes were fishing, golf and world travel.  McIntosh was preceded in death by his wife Margaret M. Carr, whom he enjoyed life with as travelers to such destinations as the Philippines and Turkey.  He is also preceded in death by his only child, Terry.

Anthony (Tony) D. Blankley ’72 died in Washington, D.C. on January 7, 2012.  Blankley became a prominent public figure as a press secretary for then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He was a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group, a writer forThe Washington Times, a guest lecturer, and later, executive vice president with Edelman Public Relations in Washington, D.C.  Blankley also was a visiting senior fellow in National-Security Communications at the Heritage Foundation, a weekly contributor to the nationally syndicated public radio program Left, Right & Center, and the author of The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilization, and American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century.  Prior to his career on Capitol Hill, Blankley served President Reagan as a policy analyst and speechwriter, and was a staff writer for Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.  Before coming to Washington, D.C., he spent 10 years as a prosecutor with the California Attorney General's office.  Blankley is survived by his wife Lynda Davis and three children.

Nicholas “Nick” DeWitt ’79, who was born on the fourth of July, passed away on March 14, 2012.  DeWitt practiced law in California and Hawaii, and taught as an adjunct professorat Loyola Law School. He was a founding partner of the law firm of DeWitt, Denney & Painter LLP and was previously a founding partner of DeWitt & Roberts LLP. He practiced complex business litigation, disability rights litigation, product liability, environmental law and toxic torts.  From 1984-98, he was a partner at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, where he held numerous management positions, including vice-chair of the litigation department.  DeWitt also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles from 1980-1984 and was responsible for the prosecution of wire fraud, mail fraud and criminal tax cases.  DeWitt studied at Indiana University before graduating from Loyola Law School cum laude, having served as note and comment editor for the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review and as a member of Alpha Sigma Nu and St. Thomas More honor societies.   DeWitt was a disability rights activist.  Throughout his legal career, DeWitt served as a lecturer on mediation at law schools, bar associations and other organizations and as a speaker at Los Angeles Unified School District and the University of California-Los Angeles on rights and opportunities for disabled students.  He also chaired the advisory council for Wheels For Humanity and served as a long-time member of the board of directors—and as president— for the Western Law Center for Disability Rights—as such, DeWitt was instrumental in the fight to keep open Rancho Los Amigos Hospital.  Dewitt is survived by his wife Barbara Krieg.

Glenn A. Brown, Jr. ’82 passed away on March 1, 2012.  Brown grew up in Burbank, CA, where he achieved the honor of Eagle Scout.  He attended UCLA, where he participated on the debate team and became an avid sports fan for the school, and graduated cum laude from Loyola Law School.  Brown practiced litigation, arbitration, mediation and settlement for Wasserman, Comden & Casselman LLP, where he became partner in 1997.  Brown also became an arbitrator and mediator for the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, and an attorney settlement officer for the U.S. District Court.  Brown is survived by his parents, two sisters, two nieces and a nephew. 

Julie A. Covell Garfinkel ’91 died on March 10, 2012. Garfinkel was raised in Lakewood, CA and later moved to Huntington Beach, CA. She earned her undergraduate degree from Cal State Long Beach. After graduating from Loyola Law School, Garfinkel joined Bottum & Feliton, becoming an insurance coverage litigator. She later worked for Nemecek & Cole in Sherman Oaks, CA. Garfinkel also served as a volunteer for the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelter Projects and was involved with Temple Ahvat Shalom.  She loved to travel and cheer on her boys at little league baseball games.  On Mother’s Day 2009, Garfinkel was recognized by Major League Baseball and the Susan G. Koman Foundation as “honorary bat girl” at a Dodgers-Giants game.  Garfinkel is survived by her husband, Gregg and two young sons, as well as her father, Bob. 

Lisa Urick ’91, assistant general counsel with San Diego Gas & Electric, passed away on January 18, 2012.  She previously had worked for the California Power Exchange, the Southern California Gas Company and Sempra Energy.  Urick received her B.A. from Wellesley College.  She was a cycling enthusiast, and would bicycle from Los Angeles to San Diego, and make the return trip by Amtrak.  Services were held in Februay at the First Unitarian Univeralist Church of San Diego, CA, and donations in her memory were directed to oncology research at the Sharp HealthCare Foundation, San Diego.  Family and friends remember her as intelligent, charming, funny, helpful and a pleasure to work with.

Gregory P. Thornton ’95 passed away in Altadena, CA on May 21, 2012.  Thornton attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles, graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY with a bachelor’s degree in hotel administration.  He began studies with Loyola Law School’s 1994 class, and following a year’s hiatus, officially completed his studies in 1995.  In 2008, Thornton co-founded the A.S.A.P. Rehabilitation Center in Altadena, CA, where he served as the facility's program director and senior counselor; the Center serves the needs of those suffering with alcohol and substance abuse challenges. Previously, he was on staff at Paramount Studios.  Thornton is survived by his partner Jennifer Dunham, his parents, sister and family, and numerous friends.