In Memoriam

David was a retired commander of the United States Navy Reserves who served during the Korean War on the USS Hale 642 Destroyer. He also served at the Naval Research Center in Washington, D.C. He was the 1968 commanding officer of Surface Division 4-15L, and a member of the Navy League of the United States. He retired as a senior attorney for Nauman, Smith, Shissler & Hall, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Michael served as Attorney and Tax Law Specialist in the Individual and Corporate Ruling Divisions in the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, he joined Easton attorney Norman Peil, also a former attorney with the IRS, to form the law firm of Peil & Egan, P.C., with offices in Allentown, Easton and later, Bethlehem.
 

John White ’75 (age 62)

John was a partner with Robert Campbell in the Campbell & White law firm in Gettysburg, and was a fixture in the legal and municipal systems around the county. He specialized in real estate, and also served as a solicitor for several municipalities and county organizations. He lived in Arendtsville with his wife, Tonya. They have two daughters.
 

Prior to retirement, Vincent was a career attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. Professionally he was a member of the Luzerne County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
 

Allan J. Berger ’54 (age 81)

Allan was a tax lawyer for the IRS for 53 years. He was a past president of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union. While with the IRS, he taught business courses at Community College of Philadelphia and graduate courses in taxation at Drexel University.
 

Robert J. Brennan Jr. ’70 (age 68)

Robert was a partner with the Connecticut law firm of Brennan, McNamara & Baldwin, P.C. He was also elected to the Fairfield Zoning Board of Appeals from 1987 to his passing. According to his surviving wife, Alyson J. Brennan, “he loved being an alumnus of Dickinson from which his uncle, Daniel E. Brennan Jr. ’38, and his grandfather, Daniel E. Brennan ’11, also graduated.”

Robert Leiby Jr. ’54

Robert was Senior Vice President of Fidelity Bank, Trust Department, as well as a good friend and donor to the Law School.

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Roger Alan Butters ’77 (age 60)

Roger participated in Army ROTC while attending Bowdoin College and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon his graduation in 1972 and then served two years as a platoon leader in air defense missile units in Korea and Fort Bliss, Texas. After his discharge, he attended the Dickinson School of Law. Following his graduation and admission to the Pennsylvania Bar, in January 1978 Roger re-entered the active Army as a Captain in the Judge Advocate General's Corps. To Roger's surprise, what he originally intended to be a limited three year commitment to burnish his resume' with trial experience ultimately turned into a 24 year long career in the Regular Army. Early in his JAG career, Roger served two tours in Germany in a succession of military justice assignments. He later served as the Chief, Criminal Law for U.S. Forces Korea. Midway through his career the Army funded his attendance at the National Law Center, George Washington University where he earned a Master of Laws degree in environmental law. Roger subsequently served utilization tours as the environmental law specialist for the U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency, for the Department of Defense's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, and for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

Roger's other career highlights included service as an Associate Professor of Law at the United States Military Academy at West Point; service as the last Staff Judge Advocate for the now closed Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana; and, service as the Army's first dedicated operations law/law of armed conflict advisor for issues related to missile defense and anti-satellite operations. Roger retired from the Army September 30, 2001.
 

The Honorable P. Richard Thomas ’48 (age 91)

Richard was president judge of the courts of Crawford County from 1964 until his retirement on August, 22, 1990. He then became a senior judge sitting by assignment of the Supreme Court throughout Western Pennsylvania for several years. He was a veteran of World War II serving as a first lieutenant in the 999th Field Artillery Battalion in Europe. He participated in five battle campaigns and received the Bronze Star.
 

The Honorable John K. Reilly Jr. ’60 (age 75)

John was elected Clearfield County district attorney from 1964 to 1974 and was president of the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association from 1972 to 1973. In 1975, he was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas and served in that position until his retirement in 2005. Notably, he became the first judge to ever succeed himself in Clearfield County.

Barbara Kosik Whitaker ’79 (age 56)

Barbara was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania for over 30 years, as well as an adjunct professor at Penn State’s Scranton-Worthington Campus and Keystone College.