April 16, 1930 - November 24, 2021
Richard Markus passed away suddenly on November 24, 2021. He is
survived by his beloved spouse of 69 years, Carol Slater Markus; his
children, Linda (spouse Walter Daniels) of Durham, North Carolina,
Scott (partner Kim Nadel) of San Diego, California, and Kent (spouse
Susan Gilles) of Columbus, Ohio; his grandchildren: Katrina, Slater,
Robinson, Etheridge and Austin; and his brother Tom Markus (La Jolla).
His brother Professor Lawrence Markus (deceased, wife Lois, daughter
Sylvia) resided in Minnesota. He is also survived by two nieces:
Connie Oliver (Greensboro, Georgia) and Christine Priday (Plain City,
Ohio), and two nephews Dale Sorchy (Wooster, Ohio) and Lindsey Markus
(Philadelphia).
Richard graduated from Northwestern University with many honors in
math and debate. He loved NU, where he met his wife and he remained
loyal to NU’s losing football. He next attended Harvard Law School,
where he served as an editor of Harvard Law Review and paid his
tuition as the debate coach for MIT. After receiving his law degree,
he was selected by Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren for the first
honors program (now in its 66th year) at the Department of Justice. He
then moved to Cleveland, where he practiced law for 20 years, leaving
to become a common pleas court judge. He left the bench to become a
professor at Harvard Law School. Shortly thereafter the Ohio governor
offered him an appointment to the Ohio Court of Appeals, which
provided him an opportunity to pursue his two legal passions: judging
and teaching. At the Court of Appeals he had a schedule which
permitted him to teach at a course at CWRU and later adding a course
at CSU law school. He was a terrible politician and disliked that part
of being a judge, which after two terms resulted in his return to
legal practice at Porter Wright, working in Cleveland and Naples. He
resigned to take a non-political position as a visiting judge (serving
in 66 Ohio counties), which he did until his 85th birthday.
Richard was also active with professional organizations, serving as
the youngest president of the American Trial Lawyers Association,
president of the Ohio State Bar Association, an active member of the
Lawyer-Pilot Bar Association, co-founder and faculty of the National
Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), headquartered in Colorado, a
faculty member teaching new judges at the National Judicial College in
Nevada. For 40 years he authored the Ohio Trial Practice, a 1000-page
book which is the handbook for Ohio attorneys on evidence and civil
procedure.
Richard received far too many awards to mention all of them, but he
was especially happy with his receipt of the Ohio Bar Medal, Lutheran
Metro Ministry Peacemaker Award, Northwestern University Alumni Merit
Award, and Ohio State Bar Foundation Distinguished Government
Leadership Award.
Richard had active community involvement, including as a trustee for
Fairview Hospital and the general counsel for Lutheran Metro
Ministries. He was a member of Messiah Lutheran Church (Fairview),
and previously Messiah Lutheran Church (Lyndhurst). He enjoyed bridge
and travel with his wife to 89 countries.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the LLM Men’s Homeless
Shelter at Lutheran Metro Ministries 4514 Superior Avenue, Cleveland,
Ohio 44103; Cleveland Rape Crisis Center PO Box 933431, Cleveland OH
44193; or the Ohio State Bar Foundation:
https://osbf.org/donate-form/. A memorial service is expected to be
held at a later time.