Hon. Roger William Eichmeier 1932-2013

Roger W. EichmeierFormer ISBA Board member the Hon. Roger William Eichmeier passed away in Chandler, AZ, on March 2, 2013. He was born on May 15, 1932, in Freeport, IL, to Charles Simon and Lee Nampel Eichmeier. 

He graduated cum laude from Depauw University, Greencastle, IN. He was the president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Northwestern Law School, Chicago and wrote for the Law Review.

In 1957, Roger and his family moved to Aurora, IL. He joined the law firm of Matthews, Jordan, Dean, and Peterson where he practiced law for many years. He was appointed an associate judge of the Kane County 16th Judiciary Circuit in 1987 until his retirement in 2000. He loved the law and was on the Board of Governors for the Illinois State Bar Association.

He was active in Aurora as an elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church and as a member of the Lion's Club. He spent hours on swimming pool decks refereeing his children's competitive swimming meets.

Roger retired to Galena, IL, where he enjoyed horseback riding and his dogs. He served as president of the Galena Territory HOA and chaired the legal and bylaws committee.

He was married to Edith Harris on December 24, 1982. Roger is survived by his wife, Edie; and his sister, Margery Duermier. He also has four children: Katy James, Sara Hasty, Margaret Wis and Daniel Eichmeier. He is also survived by Edie's children: Karen Holder, Kevin and David Voelcker. Roger has 13 grandchildren: Bethany Wertz, Rebekah Hitzfeld; Melissa Hasty; Grayson, Amelia, and Weston Eichmeier; Max, Gabe and Josh Epstein; Jackie Peters, Sarah and Taylor Voelcker and Jason Agan.

Memorial donations can be sent to The Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders: UCI MIND, 2646 Biological Sciences III, Irvine CA 92696-4545.For more information on donating, please go to http://www.alz.uci.edu/giving/.

Services were held in California. Judge Eichmeier will be honored locally at the Kane County Bar Association Annual Memorial Service on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. in the Ceremonial Courtroom at the Kane County Judicial Center.

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Chris Bonjean
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Member Comments (2)

Roger was a colleague Associate Judge, he from Kane County, and I from Lake County. Our paths would cross at statewide educational seminars. Thanks to Roger I was privileged to be invited to the ISBA think tank Allerton House Conference (Monticello, IL) of lawyers and judges about 15 years ago, and my roommate was Roger.
Roger is unforgettable as one of the most unpretentious, humble, humorous, yet learned lawyers/judges that I ever had the privilege to know and to work with in the educational domain. Roger will be missed. Thank you, Roger, for all that you gave to us in terms of practical realities and hearty humor. Terry Brady

Rog by his very nature was always kind and supportive of others. I met him at my first meeting of the Civil Practice Section Council more than 30 years ago, hosted by Ellis Fuqua at Nathan’s at the Lake, Waukegan. The result was I first got involved in the ISBA with writing and editing. Thank you for persuading me to do that, Rog. You were right; it would be a good thing for me to do. We often talked about our mutual interests in the law generally and how to improve civil practice in particular. On a personal level, Rog took the ups and downs of life in good grace and was a good role model for all of us in doing so. He always tried to do things the right way. He was not just a lawyer. He was thoughtful of and interested in the people around him and the world beyond him. I got to know him by many an hour of his loquacious good company at board and committee meetings and social events. I had the good fortune to be a house guest of Rog and Edie at their home in the Galena Territory. I visited the horse stables with Rog and Edie and saw his amazing way with his horses and his dogs together. I will miss my friend. My best wishes to Edie and all the children and grandchildren. –Don Peterson, Chicago.

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