William Forgy McNagny

William F. McNagny, 98, died January 27, 2020, in Naples, Florida. He was born on January 21, 1922 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the son of Phil M. McNagny and Lucy C. McNagny. He was the grandson of noted trial attorney and Congressman William F. McNagny of Columbia City, Indiana. He attended Forest Park School in Fort Wayne, and then Culver Military Academy, where he graduated first in his class. He attended Swarthmore College for two years on a scholarship and was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, and then served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Cavalry from 1942 to 1945. He then attended Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana, graduating in 1947 Magna Cum Laude, Order of the Coif, and first in his class. He was a charter member of Barrister’s Club of Indiana University and Phi Delta Phi. Following graduation from law school, he joined the firm of Barrett, Barrett & McNagny, now known as Barrett McNagny, where he practiced law from 1947 to 1994. During his lengthy and distinguished legal career, he was a member of the Allen County, Indiana State, and American Bar Associations, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Indiana Law Examiners, board member of the American Judicature Society, and a Diplomat of the Indiana Defense Lawyers Association. His trial skills were widely recognized, and he was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, in which he was inducted in a ceremony held in London, England. In 2009, the Indiana State Bar Association named him a “Legendary Lawyer.”

He served on the Board, the Executive Committee, and Trust Committee of the former Lincoln National Bank & Trust Company, and for many years was its primary counsel. He also served on the Board of the Devil’s Hollow Land Development Company, the Indiana Nature Conservancy, and the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation, and was a Chairman of the Wawasee Conservancy Foundation and the Fort Wayne Urban League. He also served as President of the Fort Wayne Art Institute, and Board of Trustees of the YWCA, as Chairman of the Board of the Johnny Appleseed National Memorial Foundation, and was Vice President of the Culver Legion. He also served on the Boards of the YMCA, the Visiting Nurse Service, the Fort Wayne Fine Arts Foundation, the Civic Theater, the Fort Wayne Historical Society, and was a member of the Character and Fitness Committee of the Supreme Court of Indiana. He has been a long standing member of the First Presbyterian Church, and is a Scottish Rite 33rd Degree Mason, a member of the Summit City Lodge, a member of the David Parish Post of the American Legion, a life member of the Fort Wayne Historical Society, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, the Nature Conservancy, and the President’s Club at Indiana University. In April 2013 he received an award for lifetime achievement in the Arts from the School of Creative Arts of the University of Saint Francis. His many memberships in Civic organizations reflected his commitment to his community. He is survived by a son Charles W. McNagny (Deborah) of Fort Wayne, and daughters Joyce M. Critelli (Michael) of Darien, Connecticut, and Sally E. McNagny, M.D. (Robert Green) of Wellesley, Massachusetts; and grandchildren Ryan W. McNagny, Michael Critelli, James Critelli, Katherine Critelli, Nathaniel Green, Courtney Livingston, and Lachlan Green, and step grandchild Lindsay Potthast. His wife Joan died on July 16, 2013. A private memorial service will be held by the family. Burial in Lindenwood Cemetery. Preferred memorials to the Joan McNagny Scholarship Fund at Ivy Tech, 3800 North Anthony Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46805.