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  Hon. Daniel A. Manion, 1942–2024

  Notre Dame Law School

  The Honorable Daniel A. Manion ‘64, long-time supporter of both the University of Notre Dame and Notre Dame Law School and former Circuit Judge, died on August 31, 2024, at the age of 82.

  Judge Manion was born in South Bend and attended Culver Military Academy. After high school he attended the University of Notre Dame, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1964. While at Notre Dame, he was a three-time Bengal Bouts champion and participant in the ROTC program. Judge Manion was also the recipient of the John C. Cavanaugh award, which, at the time, honored a student for their leadership and service in the Notre Dame ROTC program. Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the U.S. Army. He served as an officer and was deployed to Vietnam.

  After completion of his service, Judge Manion was appointed as the Director of Industrial Development for the Indiana Department of Commerce and, while in this role, attended night classes to earn his J.D. from Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis (now Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law). He later worked for the Indiana Attorney General’s Office and served as a state senator. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he shifted his focus to private practice.

  In 1986, President Ronald Reagan nominated Manion to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Amid contentious Senate Judiciary hearings fueled by partisan divide, Father Ted Hesburgh wrote a strong endorsement letter, calling Manion “family.” After a second vote, he was appointed with a tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President George H. W. Bush. He served as an active and senior status judge until his retirement in 2022.

  Over the course of his career, Judge Manion served as a mentor to about 70 law clerks. Among these are the Honorable Michael Brennan, Notre Dame alumnus and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Court and Patrick Urda, Notre Dame alumnus and judge on the U. S. Tax Court. Judge Manion considered his clerks his greatest professional legacy.

  The Honorable Kenneth F. Ripple said of Judge Manion, “The judge loved his work, but he also loved his colleagues. He made a special effort to know them well and to understand their perspectives on the law. Judicial work is intimate work; it requires that judges get into each other’s head. And Dan Manion took the time to know and understand his colleagues.”

  Judge Ripple said there was always a special place in Judge Manion’s heart for the men and women who served as his law clerks, including many Notre Dame Law School graduates. “No Manion clerk ever completed his or her time at the Court without coming to a profound appreciation that a life in the law is a special vocation, not simply a job. Today, those law clerks serve the Country and the profession in many capacities and carry on the Judge’s legacy,” he said.

  Elizabeth Kirk, J.D. ‘96, who clerked for Judge Manion from 2000-2002, said, “He expected from us the same hard work and intellectual rigor that he demanded of himself. But he also made clear, through his own example and through his advice and support, that the highest priorities were one’s duties to God and family. He was eminently kind, warm, practical, quick-witted, and humorous. He never ceased to be concerned for his clerks’ professional successes and personal happiness, and he took great pride in the community and camaraderie of the ‘Manion Law Clerks.”

  Judge Manion was deeply committed to his Catholic faith and to his family. He married his wife, Ann, in 1984 and they had four children. They have also been devout supporters of the Women’s Care Center in South Bend, inspired by their passion to help mothers and babies in their community. Ann has served for many years as the volunteer president of the organization and has been instrumental in its growth and success.

  Judge Manion’s family had long-standing connections to Notre Dame Law School. His father, Clarence Manion, was a professor at Notre Dame Law School and served as the Law School’s dean from 1941-1952. His father-in-law, Ed Murphy, was also a long-time faculty member of the Law School and taught Contracts. The Law School’s Murphy Fellowship is named in his honor.

  Judge Manion is survived by his wife Ann (Murphy), his four children Mary Messner (Tom), Katherine Kelly (Joe), Patrick, Michael (Madelyn), and six grandchildren.

  Notre Dame Law School extends its gratitude to Judge Manion for his dedication and service to the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Law School, and to the country.

  Previously published Oct. 17, 2024, Notre Dame Law School.

  Read Manion's Life Story courtesy of the South Bend Tribune.

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  Donald P. Kommers, 1932–2018

  Notre Dame Law School

  Professor Donald P. Kommers held the Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Chair in Government and International Studies, in the Political Science Department at the University of Notre Dame and was active as a concurrent professor of law emeritus at the Law School. He directed the Center for Civil and Human Rights from 1976 to 1981 and was the editor of The Review of Politics from 1981 to 1992. Additionally, he directed the Notre Dame Law Center, London, England, Fall Semester, 1991-92

  Explore Professor Kommers' 2005 curriculum vitae and news articles in the Comments sections below to learn more about this extraordinary scholar's position and appointments, numerous awards, prizes, and fellowships, and his publications.

  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. (EST), Monday, January 21, 2019, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Indiana.

  Read Don Kommers' obituary at Kaniewski Funeral Homes, Inc.

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  Regis W. Campfield, 1942–2017

  Notre Dame Law School

  Regis W. Campfield, Marilyn Jeanne Johnson Distinguished Law Faculty Fellow and Professor of Law in Dedman School of Law, received his B.B.A., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and LL.B. from the University of Virginia. He practiced law with a firm in Cleveland and taught at the University of Notre Dame Law School before joining Dedman School of Law in 1977. He has taught courses in wills and trusts, estate and gift taxation, and estate planning.

  Regis Campfield who was on our faculty long ago, before moving to SMU Law School in 1977. Regis was a nationally known expert in trusts and estates and in particular estate & gift taxation. He was the founder of the Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, an annual mega-CLE program, which he operated as a family project, with his dear wife Mary and various children drafted to work on everything from mailing lists to welcoming attendees. While Regis turned over the reins of the Institute to the Law School the year I became Dean, he always remained interested in the Law School and I enjoyed a close relationship with Regis and Mary in the ensuing years. The Tax and Estate Planning Institute continues under the watchful eye of Mike Kirsch and the direction of Jerry Hesch of the University of Miami. The 43d annual Institute was just held last week. Regis and Mary also created a generous fellowship fund at the Law School and generations of students will benefit from this gift.

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  Judge Thomas William (“Tom”) O’Toole, 1938–2016

  Notre Dame Law School

  One of our most cherished alumni, Judge Tom O’Toole, passed away on October 13, 2016.

  A member of the NDLS Advisory Council since 2011, Tom and his wife Elaine generously endowed the O’Toole Professorship of Constitutional Law, a chair now held by Professor A.J. Bellia. Tom’s generosity went beyond financial support to include the kind of advice and wise counsel that are so important to the functioning of a great law school.

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  Mosupatsela Karabo Vika Moleah, 1990–2016

  Notre Dame Law School

  In 1990 Karabo was born in Delaware, the second child of Alfred and Thabisile Moleah.
  
  At age 5 the family moved to South Africa to usher in the end of apartheid. Even at that age he had already laid out his plans for becoming a lawyer, insisting he would return to the US to attend law school. At age 10, the family moved to Vienna, Austria. There he had some of the most important years of his development at the American International School, where he met several of his life-long friends. In addition to discovering a love for skateboarding. At 15, following the untimely death of his father, Karabo returned to South Africa, completing his high school at Crawford College North Coast. There he excelled in oratory and debate.
  
  For his undergraduate studies, he went on to attend Temple University in Philadelphia, where he graduated cum laude in criminal justice. His love of debate and his passion for persuasive speech continued, culminating with strong performances in national mock trial tournaments. Following undergrad, he was accepted to the University of Notre Dame for law school, where he was known as a “bringer of change” to the class of 2016.

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  Conrad Lawler Kellenberg, 1928–2016

  Notre Dame Law Shcool

  Born February 12, 1928

  Conrad L. Kellenberg has been a member of the faculty of the Notre Dame Law School since 1955, becoming a full professor in 1967, and serving as director of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program from 1965 through 1967. His teaching experience includes visiting professorships at the University of East Africa (1964-65) and the University of London (1968-70). He earned his A.B. from St. John’s University in 1949 and his J.D. from Columbia University in 1952; he also studied as a graduate fellow at Yale University (1958-59). Admitted to the New York Bar in 1952, Professor Kellenberg served as a legal officer in the U.S. Air Force and engaged in private law practice in New York City from 1953 to 1955.

  
  Professor Kellenberg taught in the areas of environmental, energy, minerals, water, agricultural, land-use, public-lands, and housing and community development law. He has been a member of the International Third World Legal Studies Association since 1965.

  Born into Eternal Life April 8, 2016