By Louise A. Behrendt and Kathleen M. Murphy, Co-Chairs, HCBA 2024 Bar Memorial Committee
On May 17, 2024, the HCBA and the Fourth Judicial District will hold the 2024 Bar Memorial, a special session of the district court designed to remember the lawyers and judges who passed away in 2023. If 2023’s Bar Memorial is any indication, the accomplishments of over sixty individuals will be honored and celebrated; not only in the special court session attended by family and friends, but in a compilation of written memorials, one for each decedent, which will be presented to the Chief Judge for entry into the court’s permanent archives.
As the current Co-Chairs of HCBA’s Bar Memorial Committee, we are reminded, every year, of how important this remembrance is to families and friends, and how touched they are to have their loved ones included, remembered, and recognized for their contributions to the law, and to justice, in Hennepin County. Time spent by members of the committee makes a difference in the scheme of things, and is largely limited to contacting decedents’ families for purposes of guiding them through writing written memorials. Such time spent is beyond minutes or hours, and instead reminds us of how we are all a part of the rich fabric of Hennepin County’s legal system, and how important it is to honor and remember those who have passed away.
For information about becoming a member of the Bar Memorial Committee, please contact Cheryl Dalby at
cdalby@mnbars.org.