Page 122 - ACTL Journal_Sum24

Robert Joseph Stewart, ’78 was ninety when he died on February 10, 2021, survived by his wife Norma, his three children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchil- dren. Bob got his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of Business in 1953 and his law degree, with distinc- tion, from Michigan in 1958. We can only guess, but it’s a fair guess that the extra two years involved military service, probably Korea.
Daniel Eugene Tolfree, ’84, passed away February 2024 at the age of ninety-one. Dan attend-
ed the University of Michigan as an undergrad and for law school, graduating in 1961. Dan mar- ried Jean Roberson in 1968 and they raised three children. After
two years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, with the 97th Troop carrier Squadron at Paine Field,
Dan moved to Seattle, Washington to start his career as a trial lawyer. Dan loved spending time outdoors, especially the North Cascades, and went hiking at every opportuni- ty. He also enjoyed flying to remote lakes in British Co- lumbia with friends for fishing trips. In addition to Jean and his children, Dan is survived by three grandchildren.
Mark Edmund Vovos, ’91, died November 7, 2023 at the age of eighty-two. Mark graduated from Gonzaga Law School and was an adjunct professor there for several de- cades. Born on the South side of Chicago, Mark served in Laos as a U.S. Marine prior to law school. He is remem- bered as someone who practiced law the way he played football – without a face mask. Mark handled twenty-four capital cases over his long career – and not one of his clients received the death sentence. Mark served many years on an elite panel of criminal defense lawyers that certified other lawyers to handle death penalty cases. Mark is survived by two children.
William Bundy Wham, ’75, of Centralia, Illinois died on January 10, 2022 just a few weeks shy of his 100th birth- day. Bill married Mary Ann (Gullett) Wham on August 25, 1945 in Decatur, Illinois, and she predeceased him in 1974.
He married Joan (Behrens) Wham on July 24, 1976 in Cen- tralia, and she survives him, in addition to three children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Bill grad- uated from the University of Illinois in Champaign in 1943. His education at the University of Illinois College of Law was interrupted by service in the U. S. Navy during World War II.
He served in New Guinea and elsewhere in the South Pacific as commander of an LCT in the Seventh Fleet under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Bill later gradu- ated as a member of the Order of the Coif and was admitted to the Bar 1947, commencing practice at the firm started by his grandfather and continued by his father.
John William Whiteleather, Jr., ’89, was eighty-three at his death on March 12, 2024. John earned his Bache- lors and Law degrees from Indiana University, where he met and married Judith Ann Smock. They returned to Columbia City where he joined his father at the law firm his grandfather started. John was elected Whitley County Prosecuting Attorney in 1970 and served thirty-two years, mentoring many novice prosecutors throughout Indiana. In 1990, John helped form the Whitley County Commu- nity Foundation, and the following year served as its first president. John received the Indiana Bar Foundation Leg- endary Lawyer award in 2019, presented to an attorney practicing at least fifty years who has demonstrated their adherence to the highest principals of the legal profession and compassion through service to their community. For many years John took his sons-in-law and grandsons fishing in Canada, and took his wife, daughters and granddaugh- ters to enjoy the Labor Day Weekend in Boston. John is survived by Judy, two daughters, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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