In Memory of George J. Durkin
We were all saddened by the death of George Durkin, our former managing partner. George died on February 11, 2006 at age 71, after a brief illness.
George was a 1952 graduate of St. Ignatius High School and he received his B.B.S degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1956. He served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force for three years. In 1962, he graduated from Western Reserve Law School, was awarded the Order of The Coif, admitted to the Bar and joined the law firm of Grossman, Schlesinger and Carter. George spent his entire career with that firm, which eventually became Cavitch, Familo & Durkin.
From approximately 1970 to 1990, George was active in the management of the firm and he served as our Managing Partner for more than a decade. More importantly he was an inspiration and a mentor to virtually everyone at our firm. George was a very accomplished business lawyer whose specialty was tax law.
Active in sports, for 37 years George was the attorney for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), a national organization founded in 1965, the members of which are made up of more than 6,000 collegiate athletics administrators from the NCAA, NAIA, and junior and community colleges. While representing NACDA, George negotiated the television contracts for the 20 Kickoff Classic and 13 Pigskin Classic college football games. He helped consummate the transaction that sent then NFL stars Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Paul Warfield to the World Football League. He also led Tampa Bay's successful effort to land an Arena Football League franchise. In addition, in his capacity as the attorney for a Cleveland sports agency which represented professional athletes, George represented many athletes who performed in the NFL, the NBA, and Major League Baseball.
George was both a business lawyer and a business executive. His clients and business interests included industrial and manufacturing companies, real estate developers, restaurateurs, early local cable television companies and professional corporations.
He was instrumental in developing and managing Bay Point Marina and Resort in Marblehead, Ohio and the Village Golf Club in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. He was an avid golfer and a long-time member of Westwood Country Club and Sharon Golf Club. He was the attorney and a founding member of Adios Golf Club in Boca Raton, Florida and a founding member of Old Collier Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
George and his wife, Mary Lou, were members of Notre Dame’s Advisory Council for the Institute for Church Life. They established the "Durkin Endowment for Excellence in the Center for Liturgy" at the university. He also volunteered his time and expertise as a trustee of Cleveland Catholic Charities, was chair of St. John’s Hospital Advisory Board, trustee of Gilmour Academy, and received the Medaille Award from St. Joseph Academy.
