Walter Probert's Obituary
Walter Probert, 91, died in his Gainesville home Sunday, July 3, 2016. He was born January 13, 1925 in Portland, Oregon to Raymond and Mildred Pyburn Probert. He was inducted into the Army in 1943, during WWII. After completing Officers Candidate School, he served as a First Lieutenant in the occupation of Italy.
After an honorable discharge in 1947, he graduated from the University of Oregon with a BS in 1948 and a JD from the College of Law in 1951. He served on the Law Review and was one of only two law school graduates to be honored with the Order of the Coif. Then, he also met and in 1952 married the love of his life, Barbara Stevenson.
After practicing law in Portland, he received a Sterling Graduate Fellowship to attend Yale University College of Law, where he earned a JSD in 1957. He served on the Law Faculty at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio for six years.
Professor Probert was appointed to the faculty of the University of Florida Law School in 1959 where he taught until 2002. Among the courses he taught were Torts, Jurisprudence, Law and Language, Law and Medicine and Law and Humor. He also taught in University College and in the College of Medicine--where he was an affiliate faculty member.
In 1970, Professor Probert received a UF Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award. In 1996, he was honored as the Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Johnson, Hazouri and Roth Endowed Professor of Law. After his retirement in 2002, he was approved for emeritus status.
Professor Probert was a member of the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland and the First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville. Professor Probert’s first son, Richard was born in Cleveland in 1957. Jim Probert was born in Gainesville in 1962.
The family traveled frequently. During his tenure at Florida, Professor Probert also served as a visiting Professor at Northwestern University and the Universities of Denver, Washington and Texas. In 1968, he was a Fulbright Scholar at Keeble College, University of Oxford, where he conducted research for his book, Law, Language and Communication which was published in 1972. He served as director of the Law and Social Science division of the National Science Foundation in Washington, DC from 1971 to 1972.
Professor Probert contributed numerous articles to professional journals. He was a member of many professional organizations, including the Institute of General Semantics, the Association of American Law Schools, the American Trial Lawyers Association, the Oregon Bar Association, the International Association of Philosophy of Law, the American Society of Political and Legal Philosophy and the American Arbitration Association. At the University of Florida he was an active participant in the American Civilizations seminar. His biography was included for many years in Who’s Who in America. He was also a wickedly good poker player.
Professor Probert is survived by Barbara, his wife of 64 years; two sons, Richard and Jim; two daughters-in law, Debra Kaszovitz and Patty Xirau-Probert; and five grandchildren, Dylan, Samantha, Jackson, Maximiliano and Alejandro Probert. He will be remembered by his family for his brilliance and mischievous humor, for his loyalty and sheer determination and most of all for his undying love for his family.
The family would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Annette Sutton, his caregivers Lee and Lilly Williams, to many dear friends and to the First Presbyterian Church, all for their devoted attention and care.
A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 11:00 AM in First Presbyterian Church (300 SW 2nd Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601) with the Rev. Dr. Bob Shettler officiating. A reception will follow in Gordon Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Presbyterian Church or to the Autism Society of America (4340 East West Hwy Suite 350; Bethesda, MD 20814).
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