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Threemonthsintohistenure,Iranianextremistsseizedthe U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, including fifty-two dip- lomats and citizens. Ben directed the Justice Department’s efforts to deport Iranians who entered the U.S. illegally and also traveled to the International Court of Justice at the Hague where he persuaded its judges to rule in favor of the United States in denouncing the Iranian siezure of the embassy. During that same time, he argued before the Su- preme Court for the right of the government to denatural- ize Nazi war criminals. In 2008, Gov. O’Malley appointed Ben as chairman of the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment, which voted 13-7 — with its chairman vot- ing with the majority — to recommend that the state Gen- eral Assembly abolish capital punishment. At the time of his appointment, Ben told The Baltimore Sun that he had never represented anyone charged with a capital offense. “I come in with views, but they are not fixed views,” he told the newspaper. Ben served as chairman of his venerable firm from 1993 to 2006 and retired as chairman emeritus in 2014. Active in the College, Ben chaired several General Committees. Ben is survived by Gaile, three children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
F. Walter Conrad Jr., ’95, passed away on September 24, 2022 at age eighty-three. Walter received his bachelor’s de- gree in history from Princeton University in 1961 and a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1964. Following law school, he served in the army as an artillery officer before beginning his practice in Houston specializing in environmental litigation. Walter was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting, fly-fishing, and hiking in Montana, where he was a summer resident in Kalispell. He loved to travel and went on frequent trips to Argentina and Scotland. Walter is survived by his high school sweetheart, the artist Nancy Conrad, two children and three grandchildren.
Robert Emil Currie, ’84, was eighty-five when he passed away peacefully on October 21, 2022. Bob, an Eagle Scout, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1959. He served as a Naval Aviator in active service and as an Intelligence Officer in the Naval Re- serves, retiring as a Captain in 1983. After completing his active service, Bob attended Harvard Law School. Upon graduation, Bob and his wife Brenda moved to Los Angeles. Bob represented a broad range of clients from local developers to public companies in high pro- file, complex matters in both state and federal courts across the United States. An enthusiastic and accom- plished gourmet and oenophile, Bob was a Judge at the Los Angeles County Fair Wine Competition and a member of both the Hollywood Wine & Food Society and Orange County Wine & Food Society. Bob and Brenda travelled extensively in their tireless search for the finest restaurants and vineyards, making friends all over the globe in the process. Bob loved to play bridge and was a voracious reader of history, politics, and the classics. Bob is survived by Brenda, his wife of sixty-two years, three children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Eugene Driker, ’81, who helped mediate the De- troit bankruptcy, died September 29, 2022 at the age of eighty-five. Eugene was one of six mediators, the only one not a Fed-
eral Judge. But he
was tasked with some
of the most difficult
parts of the case, such
as addressing the
city’s unfunded pen-
sion liabilities. He also helped raise $866 million for the creation of an independent nonprofit for the Detroit Institute of Arts. The move ensured the museum stayed open and protected its collections from creditors. Mich- igan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called Eugene “a pre- eminent attorney, a lifelong and untiring advocate for his home city of Detroit, and a friend. He served with distinction as a Wayne State University governor and
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