Bernard Savin

Savin Bernard, beloved husband of Sima Z. Savin, died suddenly on February 7, 2003 (15 Adar 1, 5763) in St Paul, MN at the age of 92. He is survived by his wife of 60 years; his 4 children, Mark & Alison of St Paul, Judith "Kate" & Kirk Hansen of Houston, TX, Joel of Mpls and Jonathan & Laura Savin of St Paul; grandchildren, Peter, Benjamin, Anna and Sam. He was born in Chicago on October 16, 1910 the son of Sam & Anna Savin, the fourth of five brothers (William, Victor, Michael and Herbert), and their first child to be born in the United States. He began work in 1924, at the age of 14, as a docket clerk at the Chicago law firm, then known as Sonnenschein, Levinson, Berkson; he retired from the practice of law in 1996. He attended high school, college and law school (DePaul), at night; he was Valedictorian of both his college and law school classes. After classes he began the practice of law at Sonnenschein in 1935, where he met his adored wife, Sima. He then practiced with Levinson, Becker, Peebles and Swearin, then for many years with Becker & Savin. Starting in 1970 he practiced with Antonow & Fink and then with Altheimer & Gray, from which he retired in 1996. He was a skilled lawyer, a scholar of the law, an editor and author of legal treatises, and trusted counselor and a mentor and teacher to many who knew him. David Becker, a professor of law at Washington University wrote in the Journal of Legal Education that "he was a brilliant lawyer, but an even better teacher and mentor .... He stressed good sense, especially when it came to matters of persuasion. Sophistication and erudition were important, but good sense was always paramount. This was his approach to law, to business, and to life." He loved Shakespeare above all other authors and read and reread the plays and sonnets. It was his custom to memorize the sonnets and lately had been working on a favorite, Sonnet 146 "Poor soul, center of my sinful earth." He loved to garden, to walk through gardens and to admire the gardens of others. He was devoted above all to his wife and family. He looked forward with the greatest of delight to hearing his granddaughter, Anna and grandson, Sam read Torah at their bat and bar mitzvahs later this year. He was a noble man in all he did. Funeral services WEDNESDAY (TODAY) 1:30 pm, BETH JACOB CONGREGATION, 1179 Hwy 110, Mendota Hts. In lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to the Wendy Mesnikoff Memorial Fund at the Talmud Torah of St Paul or the Chicago Botanical Gardens, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022. SHIVA 1054 Lombard Ave, St Paul (services 7 pm) Arr Hodroff and Sons

Published on February 19, 2003