Wayne Arlo Williamson

Wayne Williamson died peacfully on February 28 from injuries suffered in a fall. He was 84 years old. A retired partner of the Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt law firm and the father of three, he and his wife Lois had recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Like his parents before him, Wayne was born in La Grande, Oregon, where the Williamsons had settled in 1862. He had one sibling, sister Kathleen. His father Lowell worked in real estate and insurance, his mother Hallie taught second grade, and Wayne's childhood in La Grande was, in his words, "wonderful, absolutely wonderful."

Instilled by his father with a love of hiking, fishing and camping, Wayne was an athletic young man who took part in all the organized sports. He also liked drama and participated in many school theatrical productions. Early on, by fifth or sixth grade, he had already decided that he wanted to become a lawyer.

Following two years of study at what is now Eastern Oregon University, where he also played football, basketball and baseball, he studied two more years at the University of Oregon, graduating in 1943. During WWII, Wayne served three years of active duty in the U.S. Navy. He was a sonar officer on the destroyer escort Neil A. Scott, engaged in anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic.

While stationed in Florida, he met Lois Hart, who was attending a nearby civilian flight school. In 1945, Wayne and Lois were married in her hometown of Peekskill, N.Y.

After his discharge from the Navy, they moved to Palo Alto, where Wayne entered Stanford Law School. And in 1948, Wayne A. Williamson, LLB, and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon to practice law and start a family.

That same year, he joined Wilbur, Beckett, Oppenheimer, Mautz and Souther, a small firm with a history dating back to the 1890's. Wayne became a senior partner in 1962, and with unwavering dedication and hard work, helped the organization grow to become one of the largest law firms in the Pacific Northwest.

Since 1987, the firm has been known as Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt. Wayne was a tough and effective litigator, who was well-liked and highly-respected by others in his profession. His diverse civil practice focused primarily on insurance defense, medical malpractice, products liability, real estate, and business litigation, including special expertise in the areas of employer's liability. Wayne was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers, a distinction reserved for the top one percent of American Trail Lawyers, and was named by his peers to several editions of The Best Lawyers in America. The American Board of Trial Advocates designated him Oregon's distinguished trial lawyer of 1992.

He was supportive and loyal to his family and shared with them his lifelong passion for sports and the outdoors, his great sense of humor and his knack for storytelling. He especially enjoyed family camping trips, fly-fishing and bird-hunting, and he showed a particular zeal for golf.

Wayne Williamson felt privileged to practice law and often talked about his good fortune to have made a career of something he loved so much. Over the years, he showed that same love and commitment to his family. And in professional circles and elsewhere, he made countless good friends along the way.

He is survived by his wife Lois; daughter Ann Williamson, her husband Eric Cain and their sons Jube Hyman and Jarkko Cain; son Sam, his wife Janet Williamson, and their sons Cole and John Ranlet Williamson; and son John, his wife Marguerite Feuersanger and their son Ian Williamson. All live in Portland.

At Wayne's prior request, no memorial service will be held. A private gathering for family and friends is being planned for a later date. Remembrances may be made to the University of Oregon Law School, c/o the University of Oregon Foundation, P.O. Box 3346, Eugene, OR 97403