Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church on Monday, April 14, 2014, aged 86.
Beloved husband of the late Margaret (Mari) Dunsford; loving father of Clare Dunsford, Mark Dunsford, Cathy Dunsford Birdnow, Dr. Maggi Dunsford Coplin, Ann Dunsford-Conway, and Gerard Dunsford, who lived but one day; proud grandfather (known as “Duke”) of J.P. Manion, Michael and Meg Coplin, Elizabeth and AnnaGrace Dunsford-Conway, and Catherine Dunsford; affectionate father-in-law of Timothy Birdnow, William Coplin, and Dr. Charles Conway; devoted brother of the late Mary Ann Smith of Houston, Texas; uncle of Margaret Ann Ford, Richard Smith, and the late Steven Smith.
Born in 1927 to his beloved mother, Ann Griffin Dunsford Lawler (known to her grandchildren as “Bumbie”), Jack went to Southside High School (now St. Mary’s) and excelled in debate and theatre. Jack graduated from St. Louis University in 1950, and married Mari Kingston, his bride of sixty years, in April 1952. He served with distinction as a lieutenant in the U. S. Army in the Korean War. He received his J.D. at SLU School of Law in 1956 cum laude, and earned an LL.M. at Harvard Law School in 1961. Professor for over 56 years at St. Louis University School of Law (Professor Emeritus at the time of his death), holder of the Chester A. Myers Professorship, Jack was renowned as a teacher. In addition to a book, Individuals and Unions, he wrote numerous articles and chapters on labor law, arbitration, and the U.S. Constitution and personal freedom. He was also a nationally known arbitrator whose clients included almost all the major airlines, John Deere & Company, the United Auto Workers, U. S. Steel and the United Steelworkers of America, the National Football League and the IRS. Jack served as President of the prestigious National Academy of Arbitrators in 1984-85. Devoted to his Catholic faith, Jack contributed generously to Catholic organizations, including the Pro-Life movement; in all he did, he was a man of conscience, passion, and integrity. Jack’s exuberance and playfulness delighted his family and friends and will be with us forever.
Services: Wake at Hoffmeister Colonial Mortuary, 6464 Chippewa, St. Louis, on Monday, April 21, from 4:00-8:00 p.m. Funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 22, at St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Church. Interment in Resurrection Cemetery.
Donations may be made in Jack’s name to the National Fragile X Foundation (www.fragilex.org), FRAXA (www.fraxa.org) or to Birthright Counseling of St. Louis.
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