Donald H. Vish

Donald H. Vish died November 5th, 2023 at age 78. He was born on January 18th,1945 at Ft. Benning, GA.
He graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1963 where the contours of his life were shaped by sports, the speech and debate team, social justice lessons taught in the classroom and the ethos of the Xavierian Brothers, expressed both through their example and in their motto: In Harmony, Small Things Grow.
After majoring in English literature at Bellarmine University, where he is included among its gallery of distinguished graduates, he graduated with honors from the University of Louisville (UofL) Brandeis School of Law, where he was later recognized as a distinguished alumnus.
He was licensed to practice law in Kentucky and Florida.
His career paths evolved in the courtroom, the classroom, the boardroom, and the dark room. He loved to write, think, listen and chat in cafes, on hiking trails, sidewalks, the public square, and the sanctuary of his church. During his life, he practiced law, taught, lectured, learned, wrote, philosophized, stumbled, confessed, gave thanks, photographed, and ultimately mastered near the end of his life the joys of La Dolce Far Niente--the sweetness of doing nothing. He always and ever aspired to becoming a good father, a good husband, a good friend, and a good citizen.
He was especially grateful for the opportunity to devote (1) three years of his work life to efforts to abolish the death penalty, a cause he first embraced as a 17-year-old student at St. X and (2) two years in Washington DC as associate solicitor of the Department of the Interior working on legal and policy issues relating to coal mining and usage. Before his federal service, he served as co-editor and contributing author of a five-volume legal treatise entitled Coal Law and Regulation published by Matthew Bender and Co. and he lectured on coal issues as an adjunct visiting professor at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Law and as a planning co-chair of The American Law Institute (of which he was an elected Life Member).
Among his personally rewarding years were those spent teaching photography to underserved children at St. George Community Center (and to his grandchildren) where he and the students discovered that the rules of good photography-prepare, keep it simple, be flexible, seize the moment, make haste slowly, look for harmony, and take care of your equipment--were also good rules to live by. It was there at St. George that he was able to witness first-hand: in harmony, small things grow.
Photography was an avid passion which he used to support the work of various charities and in pursuit of healing, kindness, peace, and harmony. During the Dali Lama's 2013 trip to Louisville, he served as his official photographer. He spent a year making a portfolio of nature prints for Norton Healthcare entitled 'Nature Heals' for use in hospitals and community clinics. The organization Compassionate Louisville cited him for use of photography in aid of kindness. For several years he photographed the Kentucky Derby for the Kentucky Derby Archives and he was the official photographer for the mayor of Louisville from 2009-2010.
He was privileged to lecture at UK Law School for five years on mining and mineral law and at UofL Brandeis School of Law for three years on law and social policy and law and justice lessons presented in stories from classic literature.
For many years, he wrote epigrams -- short, pithy rhymes with a sting in the tale -- two of which were included in The Kentucky Anthology: 200 Years of Writing in the Bluegrass (UK Press, 2010), Wade Hall, editor.
The last 15 years of his active life were devoted to serving numerous nonprofit organizations and charities focused on peace, racial harmony, child welfare, education, and criminal justice reform. In 2012, the Kentucky Bar Association recognized him for his pro bono work.
He retired from the Middleton Reutlinger law firm in 2016.
He served on the boards of Sayre School, Lexington (Chair), the Louisville Bar Association, the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (Chair), the Donors Forum of Louisville and Southern Indiana (Chair), Louisville School of Art + Design, the Louisville Committee on Foreign Relations, the Bluegrass Council of the Boy Scouts, Interfaith Paths to Peace (President), Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, and the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.
He was appointed by the governor of Kentucky to serve on the board of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance and he eagerly embraced the opportunity to work on Kentucky's very brief experiment with public financing of gubernatorial elections (1995).
The mayor of Metro Louisville twice appointed him to the Metro Louisville Criminal Justice Commission (2019-2022) and earlier in his career to the Louisville and Jefferson County Convention and Visitors Bureau. He served as city judge of Northfield, KY before the office was abolished in 1976.
At various times in his social life, he held memberships in The Lexington Club, Keeneland Club, and the Pendennis Club.
He is survived by his beloved Anita McLaughlin, his dear and much loved friend, wife, and role model; cherished children, Donald Hamilton Vish (Lisa Leathers) and Daphne Mershon Sullivan (Russell); eight grandchildren, Elizabeth Riffe, Catherine, Margaret, Virginia, Daniel, Sterling, Kaitlin, and Hannah; and 4 great grandchildren; former spouse, Peggy Handmaker, and many friends and acquaintances to whom he enjoins: mourn me the day of my death and not one minute more.
The former Catherine Pence Hamilton, the mother of their two children, Donald and Daphne, predeceased him.
He apologizes to all those he has offended or aggrieved and not made amends to before his death.
Service details: public visitation will be held on Thursday, November 9th 2023 from 5 pm to 8 pm at Highlands Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Road, followed by private family burial the following day at Cave Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations to your favorite charity are encouraged.