Robert G. "Bob" Carey was born on September 22, 1934 in Oil City, PA. He was the son of James Herbert and Mary Catherine (Lonergan) Carey, and was the third of eleven children. Bob was a student at St. Joseph's Elementary and High Schools, where he lettered in basketball, football, and debate. At St. Joe's, he met his lifelong friends Dick Straub and Larry Olin. He got his first job at 11 years old, selling peanuts in a bar. After graduating from high school, Bob worked at a steel mill, and then served in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1957. Following that, he attended Gannon University on the GI Bill, graduating in 1961. In 1962, he moved to Wilmington DE, where he worked at Aetna Casualty until 1967. While with Aetna he attended Temple University Law School at night, where he served as Class President and won the Jurisprudence Award. He received his JD and passed the Delaware bar in 1967.
Bob's great loves were family, friends, books, card games, crossword puzzles, and his devoted dog, Bear. When asked to name his favorite book, he would always say, "The one I'm presently reading," and he was proud to have found and read a biography of each President of the United States. Bob was a longtime member of the University & Whist Club, and a mainstay of his life was the Friday Club, which gave him an opportunity to play some friendly poker with close friends and take all their money on a weekly basis. He also enjoyed playing 500 with his family late into the night during holidays and bi-annual trips to Rehoboth Beach. As with poker, he usually won. Bob's idea of a perfect morning was sitting on his balcony with the New York Times crossword puzzle, a very large cup of coffee, and Bear. His favorite song was "Summertime" from Porgy & Bess. Being Irish, he also loved "Galway Bay" and "Danny Boy."
After graduating from law school, he embarked on a long and distinguished legal career. In 1967, he joined the firm of Prickett, Ward, Burt and Sanders (which later became Prickett, Jones, Elliot, Kristol & Schnee), and he became a partner there in 1970. In 1973 and 1974, he served as Counsel to the Governor of Delaware, and ran as a Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives in 1976. From 1985 until 2011, he had his own law practice, and from 1994 until 2010 he also worked in the Office of the Public Defender. He was a member of the American Bar Association, American Judicature Society, Delaware Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Delaware Trial Lawyers Association, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, and the Defense Research Institute.
Over his career, Bob tried more than 50 criminal cases, and his civil and criminal cases together produced more than 60 federal and state court opinions. From the beginning of his career he was active in pro bono matters, and he litigated a prominent free speech case. Later, while with the Office of the Public Defender, he litigated the case of State v. Baker, 720 A.2d 1139 (Del. Supr. 1998), in which the Delaware Supreme Court declared parts of the Delaware DUI law unconstitutional.
Bob was active in the community, and served on several government and charitable bodies. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Governor's Crime Reduction Task Force (1974-1977), Chairman of the Delaware Agency to Reduce Crime (1974-1977), Chairman of the Governor's Juvenile Justice Task Force (1974-1977), and the Governor's Council on Police Standards & Goals (1979-1982). He also served as Director of the WE Tobin Foundation for the Visually Impaired (1995-2001, Chairman 2011), Grand Opera House (1976-1982), Wilmington Economic Development Corporation (1975-1981), and the University & Whist Club (1994-1995). He was a longtime member of the University & Whist Club, Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall-Burke Post 5447, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the Knights of Columbus, the Brandywine Club, St. Anthony's Social Club, and the Prince of Piedmont Italian Lodge.
Bob died peacefully in his sleep surrounded by close family on January 30, 2012. He is survived and deeply missed by his daughter Leslie Erin Carey & son Jason Andrew Carey, Esq.; their mother Sandra G. Carey; Jason's wife Katherine (Walther) Carey & Leslie's fiancé John DiGiovanni; his grandchildren Deirdre Megan Buckmaster, Liam Xavier Carey & Samantha Jane Carey; his sisters Joanne Meagher & Barbara Hall and Joanne's husband Paul of Oil City, PA; and his dear friend Beverly K. Ford. Bob was preceded in death by his brothers Richard, James, John, Patrick & Michael, and by his sisters Mary, Patricia & Janet.
The Carey family would like to express their deep gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staffs of Christiana, Wilmington, and St. Francis Hospitals for the excellent care they gave Bob over the last number of months.
|