Necrology

Herbert Thomas Slade '37

Aug. 10, 1915-Apr. 14, 2006

Herbert Thomas Slade ’37, a lawyer and pioneer in providing legal services to the indigent, was born on August 10, 1915, in Syracuse, NY. A son of Herbert F., district traffic superintendent for the New York Telephone Co., and Marie Madigan Slade, he grew up in Utica and entered the College in 1933 from Utica Free Academy. “Bert” Slade joined Lambda Chi Alpha and went out for cross-country and track, lettering in both. He also lent his efforts to student publications, becoming business manager of The Hamiltonian and the freshman handbook, and an editor of Hamilton Life. “A born debater,” credited with using “his hands correctly,” he was chosen for membership in the forensic honorary Delta Sigma Rho as well as the journalism honorary Pi Delta Epsilon. President of the Political Science Club, he was graduated in 1937.

After acquiring his LL.B. degree in 1940 from the Syracuse University College of Law, Bert Slade began his career as a claims adjuster with the Utica Mutual Insurance Co. His career, however, was soon interrupted by enlistment in the U.S. Army in 1942. As a noncommissioned officer in military intelligence, he served through the end of the Second World War. Discharged in early 1946, he became associated with the law firm of Smith, Sovik, Levine & Richardson in Syracuse. On May 20, 1950, in that city, he was married to B. Viola Sullivan.

The previous fall, Bert Slade had left his law firm to incorporate, organize, and direct the Frank H. Hiscock Legal Aid Society in Syracuse. Named after a former chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, it was a pioneer local effort to assist those who otherwise could not afford legal representation. Beginning with a staff of two, Bert himself and a secretary, the Legal Aid Society rapidly expanded into an enterprise that, by the 1990s, involved some 20 lawyers handling many thousands of cases, both civil and criminal, annually. Although Bert Slade remained as executive attorney of the Society for only a half-dozen years after its successful launching, he had traveled extensively around the state, helping to set up similar legal aid organizations in other communities. It was his hope that all would reflect his own genuine liking and concern for people, and willingness to lend a sympathetic ear to their legal problems.

In 1955, Bert Slade began his long employment with the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. as a regional claims attorney, heading its legal department in Syracuse. He became a chartered property casualty underwriter and remained with the company for almost 30 years until his retirement at the end of 1984. In the meantime, he remained active in professional organizations, chairing committees and sections of the New York State Bar Association, including its committee on legal aid. A former first vice president of the Onondaga County Bar Association, he was also an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association as well as an arbitrator and past president of the local chapter of the Defense Research Institute. In addition, he continued to be active in the legal aid field as a lifetime director of the Hiscock Legal Aid Society.

Bert Slade, long a resident of the Syracuse suburb of Camillus, continued for a few years to practice law privately after his retirement from Nationwide. At leisure he enjoyed a wide range of outdoor activities, including golf, cross-country and downhill skiing, hiking, and mountain climbing. At age 68 he climbed Mt. Marcy, the highest mountain in New York State, and followed that a year later with a climb of four more peaks nearly as high. A man of good humor, confessedly addicted to “puns and banter,” he also enjoyed travel as well as writing and photography.

Herbert T. Slade, a devoted alumnus and onetime president of the Central New York Alumni Association, died on April 14, 2006, in Syracuse, at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife of 55 years. Also surviving are a daughter, Susan J. Edmonds; three sons, Herbert B. ’76, William E., and Christopher A. Slade; and five grandchildren, a sister, and a brother.

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