Lawyer Thomas Keefe: champion of underdog
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At about 6 foot 5 inches tall, Thomas Patrick Keefe Sr. was a towering guy — and a towering figure in Washington state law.
For decades, he fought for better representation for people he considered underdogs — from injured workers to the accused. He helped shape the practice of law in the state, co-founding the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, a group that today has some 5,000 members.
"He was always — his whole career — a champion of the injured working person," said Jan Eric Peterson, past president of the Washington Bar Association.
Mr. Keefe died Friday (March 29) after a battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 82.
He developed his work ethic, social conscience and love of politics early. A child of the Depression, he always spoke fondly of the government programs that allowed poor students like him to get an education, said his son, Thomas Keefe Jr., an attorney in Spokane.
Mr. Keefe was born in Seattle to Lawrence and Helen Keefe. His father died when he was still a child. His mother helped found the King County Democratic Party and would often host dinners for local Democrats, including the late Sen. Warren Magnuson, when he was still a state senator.
"Magnuson described (my grandmother) to me as the kind of person who could deliver West Seattle in a single phone call," Keefe Jr. said. "That's the kind of household my dad grew up in."
Mr. Keefe's experiences fighting in World War II also helped shape his beliefs. After graduation from St. Martin's College in Lacey, Thurston County, he entered the Army, serving from 1941 to 1945, eventually as a captain in the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion. He saw combat in France and Germany and was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions on the German front.
"Like a lot of lawyers of his vintage, he came away from war with heightened appreciation of democracy and the rule of law," his son said. Upon returning from war, Mr. Keefe studied at the University of Washington, receiving his law degree in 1948.
"I thought his love of law stemmed from two sources: the history and philosophy of it and an abiding respect for the rule of law," Keefe Jr. said.
In the Keefe household, where Keefe Jr. grew up with eight siblings, that meant everyone got up at a certain time, went to bed at a certain time and watched no TV on weekdays. "He appreciated the value of order," Keefe Jr. said. Still, it was a large and loving household.
He loved to cook and "every Sunday from the time we were growing up to the time we were married, we had a huge Sunday dinner," recalled another son, Robert Keefe, an attorney in Seattle.
During the Korean War, Mr. Keefe was stationed at Fort Lewis from 1951 to 1952, serving as military lawyer and coaching the fort's basketball team. After discharge from active duty, he joined the law firm of Walthew, Warner and Keefe, where he practiced until his retirement in 1988.
As an attorney, Mr. Keefe built a successful practice championing injured-worker cases and taking on high-profile criminal-defense work. He worked in the offices of the King County prosecutor from 1948 to 1953. He was lead defense attorney in the 1971 state and federal trials involving Seattle police and elected officials indicted for an alleged tolerance policy involving gambling. Almost all the cases ended up being dismissed, Keefe Jr. said.
As a founding member of both the national and state Trial Lawyers Association, he was considered one of the pioneers of the trial bar in Washington. He helped improve the quality of representation for injured people by forming organizations dedicated to organizing and educating lawyers, said Peterson of the Washington State Bar Association.
"He was a great big man with a great big heart," Peterson sad.
Over the years, Keefe and his sons provided El Centro de la Raza with valuable pro bono work, as well as lasting friendships, said Roberto Maestas, the center's founder and executive director.
Maestas first met Mr. Keefe decades ago as a teenager working as an elevator operator in the Smith Tower, where Mr. Keefe had his office. Years later they reconnected when Keefe Jr. persuaded Maestas and other leaders at El Centro to become involved in politics.
"We're going to miss him terribly," Maestas said.
In addition to his sons Robert and Thomas, Mr. Keefe is survived by his wife, Anne; sons Kevin Keefe and Dennis Keefe and daughters Joanne Moote, Laurie LeMay, Colleen Rayner, Kerry Shaffer and Molly Nicoletta; and 19 grandchildren.
A memorial cocktail party will be held in late April. Information for the get-together is available by calling 206-325-3333.
Memorials may be made to a favorite charity or to the scholarship fund at O'Dea High School, 802 Terry Ave., Seattle, WA 98104 or the Father Kilian Scholarship Fund, St. Martin's College, 5300 Pacific Ave. S.E., Lacey WA 98503-1297.
Janet I. Tu: jtu@seattletimes.com.