Felix Franklin Stumpf

1918 - 2015

Felix F. Stumpf

February 10, 1918 - August 16, 2015

Felix Franklin Stumpf passed away peacefully in his home in Reno, Nevada on August 16, 2015. He was born on February 10, 1918, to Karl and Annette Stumpf in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in Boston, New York City, and Bridgton, Maine. He attended Harvard University from 1934 to 1938, graduating magna cum laude in political science, and then attended Harvard Law School from 1938 to 1941. Upon finishing law school, he joined the law firm of Hale & Dorr in Boston, but was then drafted into the Army in 1942, where he served as an intelligence officer and legal attaché with the 31st Bomb Squadron of the 5th Bomber Group stationed in the Pacific. After the war, he settled in San Francisco where he met and married Martha Wickland (1948). They had four sons Eric, Kenneth, Kirk, and Mark, before divorcing in 1956. In 1959 he married Betty-Jo Danielson, adopting her daughter Jennifer, and had another son, Paul, in 1961.

During the 1950s Felix became interested in legal education. In 1953 he was hired as the first executive director of California's Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), a University of California program that promoted the professional development of California lawyers. CEB was one of only three programs nationally at that time for continuing legal education, and under Felix's leadership it experienced tremendous growth and renown for its programs and publications. In 1958 he was asked to play a leading role in the first Arden House Conference on Continuing Legal Education. In conjunction with his consultation and guidance, over the next several years 17 other organizations were created to help with the continuing education of the bar. Because of his expertise he was asked in 1963 by the United States Agency for International Development to travel to Nigeria to help develop programs to better improve the legal infrastructure there. The following year the Ford Foundation asked him to return to Nigeria to help consult on the funding and creation of the Nigerian Law School. In 1964 he became the first president of The Association for Continuing Legal Education, which comprised over 200 organizations providing continuing legal education in the United States, Canada, Mexico and other countries. In 1966 he was asked by the Asia Foundation to travel to South Korea and Japan to speak to their Bar Associations on how to institute continuing legal education there.

In 1973 he moved with Betty-Jo and Paul to Reno, Nevada to serve as the Academic Director of the National Judicial College, which offers programs nationally to improve the education and productivity of judges. Under his direction the College experienced an increase in the growth and breadth of its programs. He retired in 1984 from the college but was then asked to be Dean of the Nevada School of Law at Old College, which had been founded in 1981. Unfortunately funding was not adequate to allow for the continuation of the School of Law and it closed its doors in 1988, at which time the school had an 85% first-time bar passage rate. He returned to the Judicial College as a research consultant, finally retiring in 2000. He authored several books concerning powers of the courts and their management. He received multiple awards including the Harrison Tweed Award for special merit for continuing legal education and the Rawle Award for outstanding contributions to continuing legal education.

Felix was also passionate about gardening. He was a self-taught expert in growing tomatoes and many other varieties of vegetables. Western Sunset magazine and several local publications featured his advice on how to grow tomatoes in Reno's short and difficult growing season. Each year he grew over 300 plants of more than 100 varieties of tomatoes. His neighbors came to love and dread the knock on the door asking if they could use another bucket of tomatoes. He was also ardent about home improvement projects and was skilled with brick, stone, and mortar.
He and Betty-Jo enjoyed traveling and meeting distant relatives in several trips to England and Germany.

Felix was preceded in death by his first wife Martha, his wife of 53 years Betty-Jo, and his daughter Jennifer. He is survived by his sons Eric (Renee) Stumpf of Fair Oaks, California, Ken (Margaret) Stumpf of Arcata, California, Kirk (Barbara) Stumpf of Piedmont, California, Mark Stumpf of Berkeley, California, and Paul (Ann) Stumpf of Reno, Nevada, nine grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Special thanks to all of his friends and neighbors who made a special effort to share their time with Felix, inviting him over for meals, listening to his stories, and always making him feel welcome.

The date for a service for Felix will be announced in the near future.