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WILLIAM SCHURTMAN Obituary

SCHURTMAN--William, passed away on February 1, 2020. His passing was confirmed by his daughters, Monica Schurtman and Deborah Wolf. He is survived by his daughters, their respective husbands, Raul and Pierre, and four grandchildren, David, Nicolas, Nicole, and Justin. Bill's wife of 55 years, Christine, predeceased him in 2015. Bill was born in Vienna in 1932. After Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, his family fled to Shanghai. Bill remembered this period as an adventure. After WWII, the family resettled in Bolivia for three years. In 1950, his family arrived in New York. Bill worked and attended night school at the College of the City of New York, and received his BA. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the New York Bar. Bill met Christine on a ski trip with friends. She was a wonderful woman, whose family had survived WWII in Germany and resettled in the US. Marriage and family followed in 1959. Bill enjoyed sports, especially skiing and horseback riding, and world travel. Later in life, Bill and Chris split their time between New York City and a farm in upstate New York. Bill specialized in international commercial law. He first worked for Shea & Gould, where he rose to partner and head of litigation. He then joined Walter, Conston, Alexander & Schurtman, where he flourished and became Managing Partner. His firm merged with Alston & Bird in 2001. He retired soon thereafter, and devoted much of his time to pro bono cases. Bill filled his life with professional success, personal curiosity, and a beautiful family. He was deeply loved and respected by all who knew him - family, friends, clients, and professional colleagues. He will be missed.

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Published by New York Times on Feb. 4, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for WILLIAM SCHURTMAN

Sponsored by Bill's friend Bill Gray.

3 Entries

William Gray

April 5, 2020

Just learned on line of Bill's death. He and Christine were wonderful friends to me and my late wife Antoinette. I know how much he adored his family and know how much he will be missed by all of you. I will miss him too, but it was a privilege to have known him and to have had him as a friend.

February 6, 2020

With love and so amy wonderful memories,
Chris' sister, Bill's sister-in-Law,
Trudi Roth

Barbara Weiner

February 4, 2020

I first met Bill when he sent a resume to the nonprofit legal services program that I worked for in the late 1990's at the instigation of his daughter Monica, a lawyer who knew about my program because she too worked for a legal aid program in NYC. I was amazed that someone with his background - NYC, Park Avenue lawyer- was ready to roll up his sleeves and work with our program in Albany. He did exactly that and did it with modesty and kindness. Partly in light of my own German background, I became close friends with both Bill and his wife, Christine. Both Bill and Christine, in spite of their experiences with Germany during the war, retained a love for what was good about the country. Bill and Christine, just shortly after I met them, generously opened their home in NYC to me when I needed a place to stay for work. I also came to know their daughter, Monica, with whom I shared a dedication to working with immigrants. After Christine's death I saw little of Bill, no longer having as many occasions to come down to NYC. I regret that very much. I will always remember both Bill and Christine with much love and respect. I send my heartfelt sympathy to Bill's family, all of whom I have gotten to know over the years and with whom I mourned the passing of Christine those years ago.

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