Terry was from Fostoria, Ohio, a small post-war manufacturing town. His father, Bob, served in the Eight Air Force and returned from the war with an English bride. Bob and Joan had two boys, Terry and Bobby. They were brought up through the Catholic school system, ultimately graduating from St. Wendelin High School. Terry was saddened by the news of St. Wendelin closing its doors, a victim of the Rustbelt decay that infected northwest Ohio. St. Wendelin not only gave Terry an early education, it gave him his wife, Bonnie. Terry and Bonnie were married for 54 years but were essentially together for the entirety of their lives. While there are many threads that make up the story of Terry’s life, at its core, it’s a love story.
It is fair to say that both Bonnie and Terry are known for having hardened exteriors. It seems that mid-century Fostoria didn’t give birth to a generation of children in as much as it forged them. Terry finished high school as a two-sport athlete, a quiz show champion, and class valedictorian. He would even be invited back to St. Wendelin some decades later to deliver a commencement speech to the graduating class.
Terry was recruited out of high school to play both football and basketball at Hobart College, the first of his family to attend college. Terry’s Hobart years were among his most cherished. He was a tight end on the football team and a power forward on the basketball team. He was President of the Sigma Chi fraternity and an honors student. Anyone who knew Terry would tell you he was adept at having a good time when the occasion called for it, all credit to his Hobart years and his boys Tawny, Hanna, and “Bear.” Bonnie and Terry were separated by several states during these years, but Bonnie managed to become an occasional presence in upstate New York, usually at formal fraternity functions where Terry introduced her to Maine lobster and something they called “Artillery Punch.”
After graduating Hobart, Terry found himself drawn to the practice of law. He was accepted at The University of Virginia. Bonnie and Terry married before leaving for Charlottesville. Now a teacher, Bonnie taught school in the area while Terry made his way toward a law degree. Terry’s professors discovered his gift for thinking critically while on his feet and he was steered in the direction of litigation.
Terry was recruited out of law school to join a mid-sized litigation firm in Columbus, Ohio. This firm, Wright Harlor, would eventually merge with another firm to form Porter, Wright, Morris and Arthur. This is where he met his closest of friends. He gave his entire professional career to Porter Wright and was fiercely loyal to its people and their mission. After learning under several decorated mentors, include Earl Morris who once served as President of the American Bar Association, he too became a highly skilled litigator. He traveled the country trying cases in courtrooms in over a dozen states, usually on behalf of a large overseas corporation facing legal peril for one reason or another. Along the way he received every conceivable honor that can be bestowed upon a trial attorney.
What Terry held most dear was his family and his friendships. Terry was never happier than when he was with his friends. After he fell ill and began having trouble getting around, the softball games, tailgates, and road trips turned into less raucous affairs, like afternoon lunches. The activity at hand made no difference to him, all that mattered was that he was with his friends.
His passing leaves his daughter Kelly and his son Robby heartbroken, though there is a measure of comfort in the thought that he is reunited with his departed daughter, Kate, his father, and the many dogs he kept close to his side throughout the course of his life. His grandchildren, Joe, Gabe, Lilly, Henry, Maggie, Lucy and Jack were his treasures. He was beyond proud of them.
We lost a giant, and that’s certainly a hard thing to process. But I think Terry would tell us it’s ok to be sad for a while, but only for a while. He would say there are cases yet to be tried and football games yet to be viewed, so we best get on with it. Whether you knew him as Terry, Simba, The Historian, Le Grand Fromage, Shake or Pop, odds are he left an indelible mark on you. He was respected, loyal, generous, at times feared, but always deeply loved.
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