Everett Broadstone Laybourne

Laybourne, Everett Broadstone (94) A prominent member of the California bar for the last seven decades, died December 25, 2005, at his Bel-Air home. The cause of death was heart failure.
Mr. Laybourne was born in Springfield, Ohio, on October 26, 1911. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Ohio State University in 1932 majoring in English, he received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1935, and was admitted to the California bar a year later. His corporate law practice evolved through a succession of law firms, starting with Macdonald, Schultheis & Pettit in the late 1930's and continuing on to Macdonald, Halsted & Laybourne in the late 1960's. Mr. Laybourne was a senior partner there when the firm merged with Baker McKenzie in 1988. He later had an office at Morrison & Foerster, until 2004. During World War II, Mr. Laybourne served in the United States Navy and saw action in the South Pacific while serving on the staff of the commander of a squadron of attack transports. He was honorably discharged in 1946 as a Lieutenant. At various times during his long legal career, Mr. Laybourne represented the California Energy Commission, the National Gypsum Company, Teleprompter Corporation, Federal Signal Corporation, and Viking Industries, Inc. On behalf of Hughes Aircraft Company, he negotiated commercial transactions in Japan, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom, as well as a Lend-Lease settlement with the USSR. He actively supported WAIF, Incorporated, a charitable organization founded by actress Jane Russell in 1954 to facilitate the adoption of homeless children from war-ravaged areas in Eastern Asia and elsewhere who were disadvantaged by physical or other disabilities. WAIF arranged for the adoption of over 38,000 children during this time. He served as National Chairman and was a member of the Board for over 40 years. He helped organize various WAIF charity balls, attended by various members of international royalty, including the Queen of Greece, the Queen of Spain, Princess Margaret of Great Britain and Lord Snowdon, the Queen of Denmark, and the King and Queen of Thailand. He was a member of the California Club, the Bel Air Country Club, the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and the Los Angeles Town Hall. He was a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi social fraternity, a founder and President of the Roscomare Valley Association, and a senior warden of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, in Westwood. He was the recipient of a Los Angeles City Counsel Award for community service. He was honored by Ohio State University with an Alumni Centennial Award in 1970, an Alumni Citizenship Award in 1988, and the Humanities Alumni Award of Distinction in 1999. Mr. Laybourne married Dorrise Barclay in 1936. She died in 1973. On July 31, 1974, he married Ottilie Kruger, who predeceased him in May, 2005. He was an active supporter of Nine O'Clock Players, a theatre group in which she was acted. He is survived by his three daughters and their husbands, Gaye and David Ribble, Deedee and George Ball, and Debbie Jean and Scott Miller, and by two grandchildren, Sarah Balkin and Sam Balkin. A scholarship fund has been established in his honor at Ohio State University to assist students majoring in English: Everett Laybourne Scholarship Fund, Ohio State University, 11925 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 202, Los Angeles, CA 90025. A memorial service will be held at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, in Westwood, on March 3, at 5:00 PM.