Thomas Joseph Boodell Jr.

Thomas Joseph Boodell, Jr., 87, an attorney of principle (yes, he knew it was an oxymoron), an inveterate optimist and indiscriminate consumer of both mint chip ice cream and books of history, died peacefully on August 31, 2023 surrounded by his wife and children.

After growing up on the North Shore in Chicago, Illinois, Tom received his undergraduate degree in history from Princeton University (1957). He did a stint as a Naval intelligence officer in Japan, and graduated from Harvard law (1964). Tom returned to Chicago, and developed a practice in corporate law, a later specialization in international advisory work in Asia (inspired by his time in the Navy) and an early and sustained commitment to civil rights. In 1968, he left his father's firm to become one of the lead attorneys in the Contract Buyer's League litigation. These civil rights cases (1968-1983) helped to outlaw the practice of discriminatory high-cost contracts offered in lieu of mortgages to black homeowners on Chicago's South and West Sides. It was his proudest work. Whether he was representing large corporations or individuals, serving in big firms or Boodell & Domanskis, a firm he co-founded with the incomparable Al Domanskis in 2002, Tom was a compassionate listener, unerringly generous, and a true believer in the law as an agent for social change.

Another passion was his Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park where he could often be found cheering vigorously at his children's extracurricular events, walking briskly by Lake Michigan, or haunting the stacks of 57th Street Books for his next great read. He was a long-serving board member of the Catholic Theological Union. He also was the first chair of the Chicago Children's Choir board (now Uniting Voices), helping it to expand as a city-wide non-profit.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Joseph Boodell, Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Boodell (nee Houze), his sisters Mary (Cecy) Prescott and Mary (nee Leslie) Pelikan, and his brother William Boodell. He is survived by his four children and ten grandchildren: Beata Boodell Corcoran (children Beata and Clara); Mary Boodell (husband Evan Davis, children Ravenel and Benjamin); Peter Boodell (wife Diana and children Ella, Isabel, Owen, and Matthew); and David Boodell (wife Liesl Copland, children Laila and Ezekiel (Zeke)) as well as his beloved wife of 61 years, Beata Boodell (nee Bergman). They all will miss quiet moments with Tom, his love of crossword puzzles and regular recitations of Robert Frost, and even how he spoiled many of his good walks by adding golf. And, they will remember the sparkle in his eyes while telling a good story, especially the one about seeing Beata across the room for the first time at a Christmas party in 1959.

His final years were marked by a struggle with Alzheimer's and the family thanks the many devoted caregivers who worked with Tom during that journey, especially our dear friend Jason Allen and the team from Renewal Memory Partners.

A memorial service will be held Monday, Sept 25, 2pm at The Hermitage Richmond, 1600 Westwood Avenue, Richmond, VA followed by a funeral Mass Monday, Oct 2, 11am at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 5472 South Kimbark Avenue, Chicago, IL.

Donations can be made in Tom's memory to Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights https://www.clccrul.org/donate or to Renewal Memory Partners, 5756 N. Ridge Ave, Chicago, IL 60660.