Lester KATZ

KATZ, Lester

Lester Katz died January 9, 2013, on his 89th birthday, at his North Palm Beach, FL home, in the loving care of his wife, Julie Steyaert. His death was mercifully painless. It is cruelly ironic that Lester died of brain cancer, as his brain was such a fine one: his intellect was a force of nature—brilliant, incisive, encyclopedic, and unerring. Whether reciting poetry; quoting Shakespeare, Latin maxims, or contemporary authors; talking about last night's concert or art exhibit, invoking the histories of all cultures; or—superlatively—practicing law, Lester's brain created works of wonder and was, itself, a work of wonder. It is a minor consolation that—until his last moment—the cancer invaded, but never compromised, that wonderful intellect; he remained cogent until the end, of which he was accepting and inconceivably good natured. His apparently limitless vocabulary did not include, "Poor me." Lester was born on Jan. 9, 1924 in Hartford to Irving and Gertrude (Schlesinger) Katz. He revered his only sibling, his older brother, Martin, who was as much parent as brother as well as protector and mentor. They were also the most formidable of touch football and tennis doubles partners. After Weaver High School (Class of 1941), Lester entered Harvard, which he left as soon as possible following the invasion of Pearl Harbor. He served as a Lieutenant in the 96th Combat Bomb Wing of the Eighth Air Force as a bombardier and navigator and flew many missions from England to Germany. He was proud of—but characteristically reticent about—his distinguished service. While 100% committed to America's effort in the war, he was skeptical of war as a means of furthering America's interests. Though he recognized the utility of military might, he saw war as the absolutely final response to conflict and felt that our civilian and military leaders were and are far too cavalier about sending our youngest and best into conflict. It is no surprise that Catch-22 was one of his favorite books. After his military service Lester returned to Harvard College, graduated in 1947, and entered Harvard Law School, from which he graduated cum laude in 1950. He was proud to say that his education there "shaped and molded" his mind. Whatever did it, he was the ultimate lawyer--with a very well-shaped and molded mind.He returned to Hartford and practiced with Ribicoff & Kotkin. Several years later, he left to start his own practice and had the good fortune to share an office with Anthony ("Tony") Armentano, a young man from Hartford's South End, who went on to become Lieutenant Governor, and an Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. It pleased Lester to no end that—decades later—Tony's son, James A. Armentano, joined Lester and his son, Steven Seligman, as a partner in Katz & Seligman. Among Lester's many joys as a lawyer was his partnership with those two and Donald Holtman. He counted the relationship he had with those lawyers as among his greatest good fortunes. He loved—and was very proud of—all the people who worked with him at Katz & Seligman, especially his long-time assistant, Annmarie Dina. Lester's law practice was varied but always fascinating to him: whether he was representing the construction trades, litigating 4th Amendment issues for alleged book-makers or drug dealers, representing the interests of injured plaintiffs, or those of the insurance industry, he took every case—and every issue within that case—and owned it. He knew the facts down to the most minute detail. And the law? He lived, breathed, and mastered it: legal historian, archeologist, detective, and analyst. He was a marvel and a model to emulate. And he could cross-examine like no one else--It was joy to behold (if you were on his side); it was a wretched curse if you were not. His final lesson for all who were fortunate enough to learn lawyering from him: It is your duty—and your joyful privilege—to do whatever is necessary to advance the cause of your client. Fear no man or woman; answer to the law and to your duty to your client. We are so lucky to have had him make us better advocates and better people. Lester loved tennis almost as much as he hated it…his temper was uncontrollable and an embarrassment to him. He was unfailingly honest and gracious as an opponent, but he was his own worst critic. He hated himself on the tennis court but loved his opponent. He also genuinely reveled in the improvement of others. He was a missionary for tennis back when Marty and he would shovel snow off the Keney Park courts in order to play in the dead of winter. He was a passionate and sophisticated spectator of all sports. The advent of the Tennis Channel enabled him to learn the nuances of artificial surfaces in far-flung venues and the second-serve tendencies of players ranked in the second 100 in the world…and he remembered all of that when those young people later arrived at a Grand Slam event. He shared the ambivalence that all NY Giants fans have about Eli Manning and the others who came before him. Life was best when Bill Russell rebounded, passed to Sam Jones, who pushed the ball up-floor to Bob Cousy; and Red Auerbach lit a cigar to celebrate another Celtics' championship. He loved ideas--he read everything about everything and assimilated inconceivable amounts of information--and assessed it critically. He enjoyed talking about all things with all people. He loved his Friday lunches with "the guys" at Casa Mia as well as his many friends at the Hartford Tennis Club. He did not suffer fools gladly, but there was no better or more loyal friend. He is survived by his wife, Julie Steyaert; his son, Steven Seligman (wife KK Meyer), son Roger Katz, daughter, Elizabeth Katz Anderson (husband Brett and daughter Isabel Jean Anderson), and brother, Martin Katz (wife, Dorothy) and their extended family. He was predeceased by his daughter, Janice Katz (mother of his grandchildren, Giovanni Mastronardi [his wife, Tiffani, and their children, Jacob and Molly] and Cosmos Lyles). The family is especially grateful to Julie's sisters, Marcia Steyaert and Valerie Larson who were of such help over the last several weeks and made his staying at home possible.
In keeping with Lester's wishes, there will be no funeral after his cremation. This May there will be a memorial service in Connecticut, at a time and place to be announced. Remembrances may be sent to Julie Steyaert, 108 Lakeshore Drive, Apt 241; North Palm Beach, FL, 33408-3646 or to Steven Seligman, Katz & Seligman, 130 Washington Street, Hartford, CT, 06106-4405. Should you desire to make a contribution in Lester's name, please consider either: The Innocence Project; 40 Worth Street, Suite 701; New York, NY 10013 Attn: Development Department or Music Mountain, P.O. Box 738, Lakeville, CT 06039. He was one-of-a-kind, and we will miss him terribly.