Jack C. Keeney, the longest serving federal prosecutor in U.S. history and the father of Jack C. Keeney, Jr., Director of the Legal Aid Barbara McDowell Appellate Advocacy Program, passed away on November 19, 2011. The Washington Post obituary is here.

 

Dubbed a “Legend in the Law” in 1996 by the D.C. Bar, Mr. Keeney served 12 U.S. presidents and 23 attorneys general during his career spanning nearly 60 years in the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2000, the Justice Department named its building at 1301 New York Avenue, N.W., a rare honor for a person who was still living and employed there at the time. Mr. Keeney’s portrait is also displayed at that location, the only one of a career government lawyer in any Department of Justice building. In his lifetime, he received numerous honors, including the highest awards from the Department of Justice, the D.C. Bar, and the Federal Bar Association.

 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011 at 10 a.m. in St. Catherine Laboure Church, Wheaton, Md. The family will receive friends and relatives on Friday, Nov. 25, 2011 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Joseph Gawler's Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Archdiocesan Legal Network or So Others Might Eat. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to Mr. Keeney’s family, friends, and loved ones, especially our colleague, Jack C. Keeney, Jr.