Tributes

RAYMOND BOGUCKI ’52, LONGTIME PATENT ATTORNEY

Patent attorney Raymond Bogucki ’52 died on January 4, 2022, at the age of 99.

Bogucki’s first job as an attorney was in the patent department at RCA in New Jersey. In 1956, he moved to Los Angeles to become senior patent attorney at Hughes Aircraft. In 1958, he co-founded the firm of Fraser and Bogucki, later joining Merchant & Gould to establish its Los Angeles office. He eventually established a solo practice and worked until his semi-retirement in 2015, at the age of 93.

GERALD S. “GERRY” DUFFY ’69, ATTORNEY AND FORMER JAG RESERVIST

Gerald S. “Gerry” Duffy ’69 died on January 29, 2022, at the age of 77.

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Duffy served on active duty in the U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, after graduating from the Law School. He was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas.

After active duty, he returned to Minnesota, where he entered the private practice of law and continued his military service in the reserves as a JAG officer. Duffy retired from the U.S. Army Reserves in 2004 after attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. For the last 11 years, Duffy was a shareholder and, more recently, counsel at Monroe Moxness Berg in Bloomington, Minnesota.

LAUREN GRAFF ’19, ATTORNEY

Lauren Graff ’19 died on October 30, 2021, at the age of 32, after suffering a pulmonary embolism while pregnant. Prior to her passing, she delivered a healthy baby boy, James. Her surviving spouse is Mitchell Ness ’18.

During law school, Graff was a student attorney with the Business Law Clinic and the IP and Entrepreneurial Clinic. She served as an editor on the Minnesota Journal of International Law and worked as judicial extern for Chief Judge John R. Tunheim ’80 at the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Minnesota.

After graduating from Minnesota Law, Graff joined the Chicago office of McGuireWoods, where she had worked as a paralegal before law school and where she had spent her first- and second-year summers.

GALE MELLUM ’68, CORPORATE LAWYER

Gale Mellum ’68 died on September 18, 2021, at the age of 79.

Mellum practiced in Faegre & Benson’s corporate group for more than 30 years. He concentrated his practice in the representation of developing businesses, including general corporate counseling, various types of debt financings, private and public securities offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. He later formed his own law firm, Mellum & Welsh, with his daughter, Wendy Welsh ’96.

In 2002, Mellum established a scholarship fund in his name at the Law School. The fund has made 18 awards and supported 10 different students since its creation.

< CONT JOSEPH O’NEILL ’56, FORMER LEGISLATOR, COMMUNITY ADVOCATE

Joseph O’Neill ’56, a St. Paul attorney, legislator, and community leader and advocate, died on January 24, 2022, at the age of 91.

O’Neill served as legal counsel in the U.S. Air Force from 1956 to 1959 in the Azores, then served in the reserves until 1972. He practiced law in St. Paul for more than 50 years. He taught at Minnesota Law from 2004 to 2013 and served in the Minnesota Legislature from 1966 to 1976, first in the house and then the senate.

Throughout his life, O’Neill maintained a high level of civic engagement, including serving as the chairman of the St. Paul Civic Center Authority. He helped secure funding for the Xcel Energy Center and the NHL expansion of the Minnesota Wild in 2000.

FRED PRITZKER ’75, INNOVATOR IN FOODBORNE ILLNESS CASES

Minneapolis attorney Fred Pritzker ’75, founding partner of Pritzker Hageman, died on January 10, 2022, at the age of 71.

Pritzker had a national reputation for handling complex civil cases, including his pioneering work in foodborne illness and fire and explosion cases. His trial verdict on behalf of a child with E. coli poisoning is the largest foodborne illness settlement of any kind in American history. Pritzker’s work was recognized nationally, and he was a three-time recipient of Minnesota Lawyer’s Attorney of the Year award.

ANNA SHAVERS ’79, LAW PROFESSOR

University of Nebraska College of Law Professor Anna Shavers ’79, who began her academic career at Minnesota Law in 1986 and established the Law School’s first immigration law clinic, died on January 22 at the age of 75.

Shavers was the Cline Williams Professor of Citizenship Law and associate dean for diversity and inclusion at University of Nebraska College of Law, where she has served on the faculty for 33 years. During her distinguished tenure, she served at various points as the school’s acting dean, interim dean, and associate dean for diversity. Her primary area of interest was in immigration and its intersection with gender issues.

RODGER D. YOUNG ’72, LITIGATOR

Rodger D. Young ’72 of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, died on September 30, 2021, at the age of 75.

Young started his career at Moll, Desenberg & Bayer, Detroit’s oldest firm, and went on to become its youngest partner in 60 years. In 1991, he founded the civil litigation boutique of Young & Associates. He also served on the State Bar Board of Commissioners and the Michigan Bar Foundation.

Young was a generous supporter of the Law School, starting the Brig. Gen. Rodger D. Young and Dorothy L. Young Scholarship Fund, which has provided support to nine students since its inception.