H. Hale McCown

H. Hale McCown, 91, Yellow Springs, Ohio, formerly Beatrice, died peacefully in his sleep on Sept. 1, 2005. The oldest of five children, he was born in Kansas, Ill., (1/19/14) to Ross McCown, a Presbyterian minister, and Pauline (Collins), a school principal. He was educated at Hastings College (AB, 1935) and Duke University School of Law (LLB, 1937). Notable fellow classmates from Duke '37 include Harland Leathers of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tom and Caroline Stoel, founding partners of the large west coast law offices of Stoel Rives LLP, and former President Richard Nixon, who once hosted their class reunion at the White House. Most notable, however, was classmate Helen Lanier, whom he married in 1938.

They made their home in Beatrice and raised three children, Bob, Bill and Lynn. World War II intervened in 1942, when Hale joined the U.S. Naval Reserves as a lieutenant and served in the Pacific as a fighter director, intercept officer on a CVE escort carrier. He earned six battle stars, a Philippine Liberation medal, a Navy Unit citation, and individual citation ribbons. After the war, he returned to private practice in the law firm of McCown, Baumfalk and Dalke, for which he represented insurance companies, Union Pacific Railroad, and served as general counsel for Dempster Mill Manufacturing and Vise Grip Tool Company.

He was active in the Nebraska Bar Association, serving as chair of the House of Delegates from 1955-56, and president from 1960-61. He was also active at the national level, serving as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1960 and on the Legal Ethics Committee of the American Bar Association from 1957-62. He was highly respected for his work with the American Law Institute, to which he was elected in 1957 and served on its governing council from 1969-2000, when he became an emeritus member.

He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Nebraska in 1965, the first appointee under the Merit Plan of Judicial Selection. When he retired in 1983, he had written over 750 legal opinions, over 100 of which were dissents. Frank Morrison, governor of Nebraska from 1961-67, ruefully recalled his judicial appointee's integrity to the law in a 1995 interview for the Omaha World-Herald. Morrison had signed a controversial property tax bill. "The bill was political dynamite, and I knew it," Morrison said. "But it had to be done in the name of equity. But when it went to the Supreme Court, my own appointee and friend Hale McCown wrote an opinion that my actions were arbitrary and capricious."

Hale McCown has been listed in Who's Who of America since 1961. Hastings College recognized him in 1981 with an Outstanding Alumni Award and Duke University Law School honored him in 1986 with the Charles S. Murphy Award for outstanding public service. In 1996, the Nebraska State Bar Association Foundation recognized him with a Legal Pioneer Award, which honors the lifetime achievements of a lawyer who makes innovative contributions to the improvement of justice.

His family will remember him as an avid world traveler, an accomplished teller of tales, a lover of word games, jokes and puns, and a dedicated adherent to Scotch frugality, but not to frugality with scotch. We will miss being worried over, being reminded that "you can't be self-righteous if you're right," and our living example of the credo to "treat others with respect, not because they deserve it, but because you are a gentleman." But most of all, we will miss our gentle "peetie swie."

He is survived by: his beloved wife of 67 years, Helen; children, spouses, Bill and Pauline McCown, Lynn McCown and Saul Young; daughter-in-law, Ranna Christenson; grandchildren, spouses, Jocelyn and Jim Hardman, Hadley and Kevin Messner, Hillary McCown and Rick Donner, Andrew McCown and Margot Roth, Alex McCown; great-grandchildren, Zeke and Jacob Hardman, Jules and Katharine Harris, Isabelle Messner, Ruby Donner. Preceded in death by: son, Bob McCown; granddaughters, Heather Young, Cecily Kenton.

Memorial services were held Sunday (9/4/05).