Arthur J. Lempert

When he arrived at the Palo Alto train station he was met by the Dean of the Law School who expected Lempert to be the class star. That was not to be in the Class of ‘52, which would later include two members of the U.S. Supreme Court. Besides, Lempert did not like some classes and took welding and poetry instead. He received one D and that ended his scholarship. But he didn’t tell his parents. Instead he found four part time jobs, Stanford provided a loan and he graduated on time. He joined the Air Force during the Korean War, wanted to be a bombardier, but with poor eyesight he served in the USAF legal corps instead.

He met his wife at a Stanford Alumni Reunion in Manhattan and the two moved to San Francisco in 1956 and a year later to San Mateo. Art specialized in tax and oil and gas law but he did everything. He worked at Layman and Lempert in San Francisco for more than 50 years. He didn’t believe in billable hours and his clients who ranged from business to artists loved him because he worked tirelessly on their behalf and rarely lost a case. He brought a brief case home every night, went to the office six days a week. On the seventh day he mowed the lawn.

Gardening was his delight. He especially loved to get in the dirt and pick weeds. He also loved camping and skiing with this family. Art was an intrepid skier despite occasional falls and broken limbs. He rode his bike to the train station and when he retired, around town to do errands. But his main love, next to his family, was books. When he earned his first 25 cents he bought a used book and his collection continued. Every room in the San Mateo house is filled with books on every subject imaginable. And as a young boy it was the public library, which enabled him to stretch his hungry mind. For his three children he was the source of much knowledge and inspiration. Their father helped make them tough as well as smart.

But what really endeared Art to his friends, clients, and family was his sense of humor. When the Hospice doctor first examined Art and asked how he felt, Art said “Great!”

Art planned to go south during the Civil Rights protests to help register voters, a very risky business, until his wife with two young children stopped him. He was the first in his firm to hire an African-American secretary and when she was turned down for housing, Art went to battle and the landlord learned a lesson he would never forget.

There will be a memorial service, hopefully this summer. If you wish, you can make a contribution to Mission Hospice, Children Now, or the San Mateo Library Foundation.