The Law Center Community Remembers Long-Time Board Member and Friend, Dick Odgers
The Law Center community is deeply saddened by the passing of one of our most beloved founders and friends, Dick Odgers. Dick was a founder, a supporter, an insightful and generous friend, and a deliberate and thoughtful voice in any situation. We know this organization wouldn’t be where we are today without him.
Following the mass shooting in San Francisco in 1993 that led to the formation of the Law Center (then Legal Community Against Violence), Dick joined the effort as a member of the Steering Committee in 1994. He went on to serve as the third Chair of the Steering Committee in 1998, became the first Board President in 1999, and stayed on as an active board member for a total of 16 years.
He will be remembered as a model of grace and strength and for those who knew him, a person they aspired to emulate. Many members of our board of directors and staff expressed their sorrow at his passing and their gratitude for having known him.
“He was by far one of the best people that I have ever known.”
~ Robyn Thomas
Law Center Executive Director
*****
“I will greatly miss Dick’s brilliant legal mind, wry sense of humor, and gentle spirit. It was an honor to have known him and worked with him for so many years.”
~ Julie Leftwich
Law Center Legal Director
*****
“Dick and I were good friends; his most important contribution regarding the Law Center was his model as President of the Board and as a Board member. His ability to get along with everyone, Board members, and particularly LCAV’s staff and Executive Director, in times of stress, was a model for me when I became President. [He was] a great leader and wonderful human being.”
~ James Fousekis
Law Center Board Member, Founders’ Circle Member, and Board President (2003-2004)
*****
“I had the wonderful pleasure of knowing Dick for over 25 years. We first met during the early days of the California Minority Counsel Program. He was a wonderful contributor to that Program, as he has been with the Law Center, and innumerable other local, State and national programs that have made, and are attempting to make, a positive difference in how we work and how we live. His accomplishments were many, and his admirers and friends countless. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten. “
~ Guy Rounsaville
Law Center Board Member
*****
“Dick made the world a better place. Memories of Dick for me are inextricably intertwined with his leadership and deep commitment to the Law Center, especially in the early years. I always enjoyed being around him and found him to be quintessentially thoughtful, kind, humble and generous. I am deeply saddened but consoled by lovely memories of him.”
~ Carol Kingsley
Law Center Board Member and Founders’ Circle Member
*****
“Words are inadequate to describe the sense of loss those of us who are Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro alums, and who worked with Dick, feel at his passing. He was a giant of the law, a great civic leader, a splendid law partner, and a genuinely kind and compassionate gentleman.
He cannot be replaced and we will not see his like again.”
~ James Seff
Law Center Board Member
*****
(In reply to Jim Seff)
“Amen. A great lawyer, a great community leader-the embodiment of what it means to be a committed professional.”
~ Elizabeth Cabraser
Law Center Board Member
*****
“There could not have been a better learning experience for a young lawyer than to work with Dick. He punctured half-baked arguments, pomposity, and lack of focus with little mercy … but he never lost sight of the horizon”.
~ Former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker
Current Law Center Board Member
We are deeply grateful that Dick’s family listed the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence as one of the organizations to which donations may be directed. If you would like to give in Dick’s memory, you can do so here.