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Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 49
BY REPRESENTATIVE LEGER
A RESOLUTION
To express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the death of William Kearney Christovich
of New Orleans.
WHEREAS, it is with deep regret and profound sorrow that the members of the
House of Representatives of the Legislature of Louisiana have learned of the death of
William Kearney Christovich of New Orleans on Tuesday, April 10, 2012; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Christovich was born in New Orleans in 1927 to Alvin Richard
Christovich and Elyria Kearney Christovich; and
WHEREAS, after graduating from Jesuit High School, Mr. Christovich served his
country with valor and fortitude in the United States Navy as a radioman during World War
II aboard the USS Wingfield DE 194; and
WHEREAS, in 1948, Mr. Christovich met his lifelong partner and wife of sixty-two
years, Mary Louise Mossy, with whom he built a loving and dedicated family; and
WHEREAS, after being discharged from the Navy Reserve, Mr. Christovich attended
Tulane University and obtained his juris doctorate from Tulane University Law School in
1950; and
WHEREAS, in 1950, Mr. Christovich joined the law firm Christovich & Kearney,
where he became a partner, practicing civil defense trial work, specializing in products
liability, and litigating maritime disputes and accidents and professional liability contests;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Christovich's success in trials throughout the state of Louisiana in
federal and state district courts, courts of appeal, and the Louisiana Supreme Court earned
him a place among the "Best Lawyers in America", a title he held from the inception of these
rankings until his retirement in 2010; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 49
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WHEREAS, Mr. Christovich was active in many legal associations; he followed his
father as past president of the International Association of Defense Counsel, was a fellow
of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 1976, executive board member of the Defense
Research Institute, member of the board of governors for the Louisiana Bar Association for
twenty years, and member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Federal Bar
Association, New Orleans Bar Association, and, for over fifty years, the Maritime
Association of the United States; and
WHEREAS, in 1995, Mr. Christovich received the Curtis Boisfontaine Trial
Advocacy award from the Louisiana Bar Foundation for his long-standing devotion to and
excellence in trial practice and upholding the standards of ethics and consideration for the
courts, litigants, and all counsel; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Christovich bestowed his wisdom upon future lawyers by serving
as a professor at the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center and Tulane Law
School, where a professorship honors his name; and
WHEREAS, in addition to being a legal practitioner and professor, Mr. Christovich
was also dedicated to historic preservation, serving as a charter member of the Friends of the
Cabildo, past chairman of the Louisiana State Museum board, and member of the Laussat
Society of the Historic New Orleans Collection and the Felicity Street Redevelopment
Association, and having assisted in the establishment of Save Our Cemeteries and the
Preservation Resource Center in 1974; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Christovich worked diligently to improve the city of New Orleans
by preserving its beautiful nineteenth-century structures and pioneering its twentieth century
lakeshore expansion; he was a member of the Garden District Association for twenty-five
years and received the Terry Parkensen Award for a house he restored, in addition to serving
as past president of the Lakeshore Property Owners Association and providing legal
representation to the lakefront for thirty-five years; and
WHEREAS, in addition to residential structures, Mr. Christovich was active in the
restoration of the churches he attended, St. Mary's Assumption and St. Patrick's; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Christovich's charitable spirit extended beyond historic preservation
to patronizing Jesuit High School and Tulane Law School and serving as a board member ENROLLEDHR NO. 49
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of the Loyola College of Music and Fine Arts and executive board member of the New
Orleans Opera Association; and
WHEREAS, when Mr. Christovich had time for leisure, he enjoyed tennis, golf,
opera, and a weekly lunch with his law school classmates; and
WHEREAS, William Christovich is survived by his wife, Mary Louise Mossy;
daughters, Anne Therese "Terry" Gay and Marie Elise "Kit" Grote, and sons, Michael Mossy
Christovich and Jeffrey James Christovich; grandchildren, Keenan Ellis Grote, William
Armand Grote, William Kearney Gay, John-Michael Christovich, Eli James Gay, Elyria
Kearney Eileen Grote, Michelle Mossy Christovich, Amanda Rachel Christovich, Olivia
Harriss Christovich, and Cameron Wiley Christovich; great-grandchildren, William Tate
Gay and Kiernan Markwith Grote; and brother, Alvin R. Christovich, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, with the death of Mr. Christovich, Louisiana has lost one of her finest
citizens, a gentleman of many gifts and talents who has left an indelible mark on the lives
of those he touched; and
WHEREAS, although the death of William Christovich has left a tremendous void
in his community, his memory shall live forever in the minds and hearts of all who loved
him and all who had the pleasure of knowing him.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the
death of William Kearney Christovich of New Orleans, does hereby record for posterity his
outstanding accomplishments and singular contributions, and does hereby extend enduring
appreciation for the tremendous pride and honor that this wonderful man will forever bring
to his family, friends, community, state, and nation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the family of William Kearney Christovich.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES