Paul Edwin Kast

KAST - Paul Edwin, a lawyer who practiced on Long Island for 62 years, died at his Massapequa, NY home, March 8, 2015. He was 86. Born in Merrick, NY, he graduated from Mepham High School in 1946, then attended St. Lawrence University and the University of Michigan. He received his law degree from NYU in 1952. He married Dr. Lisl Ivanyi Kast in 1956. Paul Kast would never say no to anyone who asked for his help. An early example: In 1954, during the U.S. Army's occupation of Germany, a soldier facing a court-martial rejected the defense counsel offered by the Army, and instead asked Paul, an enlisted man, to be his lawyer; Paul agreed, and the soldier was acquitted after Paul's remarkable cross-examination of the prosecution's key witness. Family, friends and clients have benefited from Paul's encouraging, generous counsel ever since. In addition to his wife Lisl, he is survived by daughter Ellen Kast and her husband Bill Shook, Tampa, FL; son Peter Kast and his wife Julie Gill Kast, Greenwich, CT; granddaughter Catherine Kast and her husband Ben Stickney; and grandsons William Kast and David Kast.