Frank Mitchel Tuerkheimer

Frank Mitchel Tuerkheimer

July 27, 1939 - Sept. 16, 2023

MADISON - Frank Mitchel Tuerkheimer died September 16, 2023, in Madison, WI, from complications of pancreatic cancer, surrounded by family.

Frank was born in New York City on July 27, 1939, months after his family fled Nazi Germany. He grew up in the city's Washington Heights neighborhood, and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science, Columbia University, and New York University School of Law. Following a judicial clerkship with U.S. District Court Judge Edward Weinfeld, Frank served as a Legal Assistant to the Attorney General of newly independent Swaziland. From 1965 until 1970, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. In 1970, he joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he was known to hold office hours sailing on Lake Mendota and where he was professor emeritus at the time of his death. From 1973 to 1975, he served as an Associate Special Prosecutor for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force, and, from 1977 to 1981, as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. Starting in 1985, he was of counsel at Godfrey & Kahn (formerly LaFollette & Sinykin), where he maintained an active pro bono practice. He is the co-author of Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust (NYU Press 2014).

Frank loved biking, sailing, reading, travel, classical music, and, above all, spending time with his family and friends. His wisdom, sense of humor, and joy for life will be deeply missed.

Frank is survived by his wife of 55 years, Barbara Wolfson Tuerkheimer; children: Deborah Tuerkheimer (Dylan Smith) and Alan Tuerkheimer (Lisa Weiss); and grandchildren: Max Tuerkheimer Smith, Leo Tuerkheimer Smith, Jacob Tuerkheimer, and Elizabeth (Lizzy) Tuerkheimer.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Frank's memory to Temple Beth El (Madison, Wisconsin), Equal Justice Initiative, or the Natural Resources Defense Council.