"JOHNSTON--Neal W. With great sadness, we mourn the loss of our father who died on May 24, 2010. Born in Illinois, December 30th, 1939, he graduated from the University of Chicago - where he edited the Chicago Maroon and appeared in US English-language premiere of Spring Awakening - and Harvard Law School. A practicing attorney until the end, he never put gaining a fee ahead of arguing a good case, and was known throughout the legal community for the literary quality of his letters and briefs. An associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison before starting his own practice, he was also Deputy Chief of Litigation for the New York State Attorney General; Chief of Staff to the President of the New York City Council; a fellow of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the founder and first Executive Secretary of the Council of New York Law Associates (NKA the Lawyers Alliance for New York). A Midwesterner by birth but a New Yorker by soul, he celebrated and lived the life of the mind - and the arts. We will miss his wit, wisdom and great generosity of spirit. His wife Eden Ross Lipson predeceased him. He is survived by his four children, two brothers Warner and Scott and ex-wife Judy Johnston. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lawyers Alliance for New York. Lawyers Alliance will host a memorial service on October 1st at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. Delari, Tara, Margo and Garth."
Neal's wife, Eden Lipson, died in May 2009, and was a children's editor at the New York Times, and also a children's book author. Condolences have been sent to Neal's children from the class of 1957.
5 comments:
How lucky we were to have in our orbit for even a short time. He was what is called a "Mover and Shaker"...with those political rallies of his and his play productions...but you could tell early-he was furlongs ahead of the rest of us and would move rapidly ahead of us and our simply ways...that did not mean we would ever forget him....we did not and we will not...he was a gift. Fondly,Lynne
My exposure to Neal in high school was limited at best. However he generally left an impression on most people he encountered. Neal was not a troublemaker like some of us but he was somewhat mischievous and desired to at least hang on the fringe. It seems that I recall that while running for Student Council president (? )he stated in his campaign speech if elected he would provide coke machines in every hallway. This, of course, got the vote of us renegades. At one time Neal told me that his hope was to be "expelled from school en masse".
Murray
Neal and Noel McGinnis were very humorous subversive troublemakers. They were not like Murray said serious offenders like some of us were, but very willing to make anyone they could look foolish if they could. I remember they started the First Young Communist Cell in Mt Morris, IL just to drive Mr Kinsley crazy. Someone found out about it and it was squashed quickly. They did it as a joke but someone took it seriously, and in the days of Senator McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, nobody wanted to make jokes about that.
Trouble makers at MMHS? Surely not!
@ Mike
Neal was quite proud of that, someplace he had found multiple copies of a Marx book and was passing them out.
I also remember it as the First Young Christian Communist Cell.
Warner Johnston
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