Necrology

Bruno Colapietro '57

Aug. 11, 1935-Nov. 11, 2024

Bruno Colapietro '57, P'82 — the son of Italian immigrants and the first in his family to attend college — died on Oct. 11, 2024. He became an attorney of excellent reputation and took up ice hockey in 1988 at the age of 53, joining an adult league in Binghamton, N.Y. He played in 851 consecutive games before finally hanging up his skates in 2016 at age 81. 

Born on Aug. 11, 1935, in Endicott, N.Y., and raised there, he came to Hamilton from Upton-Endicott High School with the goal of becoming a lawyer. Bruno was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity and majored in history. He was a standout at second base for the baseball team for all four years: he reportedly did not commit a fielding error until his junior year, and garnered a total of only four errors while on the Hill. Over the course of his collegiate career he led the team in stolen bases, walks, and sacrifices. As a senior, he was elected team captain and earned the John L. Strickland Award as most valuable player. He joined the Block “H” Club as a sophomore. 

In his first and second years, Bruno was also on the staff of The Spectator. As a senior, he was on both the Press Board and the Newman Club. He also filed stories about Hamilton’s teams with the Utica Daily Press and the Observer-Dispatch, often finding ways to include his own worthy accomplishments in the story.

His introduction to ice hockey came as a member of his fraternity’s intramural team. In his senior year, when asked by a Binghamton sportswriter what was most memorable about his Hamilton athletic career, Bruno replied: “learning to play hockey.”

During the summer after graduation, Bruno played on a semi-professional baseball team and attracted the attention of a Pittsburgh Pirates scout who offered him a contract to play on one of the organization’s minor league teams. By then, he had been admitted to Cornell Law School. When he learned that if he accepted the Pirates’ offer he had to choose between going to spring training or completing the second semester of law school, he hung up his cleats and moved to Ithaca.

During the course of his legal education, Bruno distinguished himself academically. He joined the staff of the Cornell Law Quarterly and, in his second year, was appointed its managing editor. He also met a fellow resident of one of the university’s graduate dormitories: Jane Larson, a grad student in physical chemistry who was also a native of Minnesota. Their relationship blossomed. They were married in the summer of 1959 and had three children.

In 1960, having earned his LLB and ranked tenth in his class, Bruno was one of 95 law school graduates (out of 600 applicants) to be hired by the U.S. Department of Justice. He was assigned to the criminal division, and he and Jane moved to Arlington, Va.

In 1961, they returned to his hometown of Endicott, and Bruno joined the firm of Chernin & Gold as an associate, specializing in family law. Two years later, he became a partner in the firm and would remain there until 2016. When asked to represent a client in a divorce case, Bruno made clear that he would not take the side of someone who wanted revenge on his or her partner for whatever led to the breakup and instead gave priority to the best interests of the children.

In the course of his practice, Bruno developed a reputation as an effective lawyer, particularly in his specialty. Beginning in 1970, he was appointed an adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School in the field of family law, including practice training to first-year students. He remained affiliated with Cornell for 30 years. Subsequently, he joined the law school at SUNY Binghamton (now Binghamton University) as an adjunct faculty member and taught there for 20 years. 

Bruno’s career flourished. In 1977, he was elected to a one-year term as president of the Broome County Bar Association, the youngest attorney to hold that office. That same year he was included in Who’s Who in American Law. By 1982, he had become a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. In 1983, Best Lawyers of America listed him in the section titled “Domestic Relations,” and it would continue to do so at least through 2009, when he was honored in the publication celebrating its first 25 years. By 1988, he was co-chairman of the New York State Bar Association’s committee on surrogate parenting legislation. Back home, he was a member of the Endwell Rotary Club and served a term as its president.

Following his ostensible retirement, Bruno remained “of counsel” for his firm after it was absorbed by Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP. In 2016, he moved to Coughlin & Gerhart, where he continued as of counsel until he permanently retired in 2020, at the age of 85. 

In his time away from work, he maintained an abiding interest in history, thanks in large part to the influence of courses taken with “Digger” Graves. If hockey could be seen as his winter carry-over sport, singles tennis was his summer choice.

He understood the effect of his time on the Hill. As he wrote in his 50th reunion yearbook: “The education I received at Hamilton was outstanding. Because of the emphasis on reading and writing, I found law school much less frightening. The honor code under which we lived stays with me to this day.”

Bruno’s service to the College was extensive. At different times he was an officer of the Alumni Association, class committee member, class gift chair, and a member of his reunion gift committee. He was also a member of the planned giving committee and volunteered for both the 175th Anniversary Campaign and the Career Center.

He was a faithful donor to the Hamilton Fund and contributed financially to the Edgar B. “Digger” Graves Seminar Room in the Burke Library, baseball team, performing arts facilities, Daniel and Mary Keane Fund, and several capital campaigns. In 1996, he became a Joel Bristol Associate by establishing a bequest for the College.

Bruno Colapietro is survived by his wife, three children, including Jennifer C. Stewart ’82, son-in-law Eric Seybold ’88, and 10 grandchildren.

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