Died August 31, 2008
College: Jonathan Edwards
Widow: Mrs. Ellen Tuttle
703-276-0469
etuttle2001@yahoo.com
Al was my roommate in prep school and college. I remember editing one of his essays early on. It began: “I hate authority!”, and that was certainly a cornerstone of Al’s view of life, along with an enormous passion for intellectual life. We both took courses in the Directed Studies program our first two years, and the small philosophy seminars – cornerstones of that program – captivated Al’s powerful and argumentative mind. He went on to major in philosophy, following that with Yale Law School, where he was one of the editors of the prestigious Yale Law Journal in his final year. Al was also an excellent photographer, and he worked with the Yale Daily News throughout his undergraduate career. With two Leicas strapped around his neck and his beret, he chronicled many of the events from our undergrad years.
After graduating from law school amidst the turbulent civil rights movement of 1964, Al headed south to volunteer his legal services. I lost track of him for a few decades, but I know he worked for the Attorney General’s Office for some time, including presenting cases at the Supreme Court, then joined one of Washington’s prestigious law firms. We reconnected in in the late 1990’s and from then on made it a point to visit each other at least once a year. By this point, Al had become the chief counsel representing the Gucci corporation. They supplied him with apartments in London, Amsterdam, and Florence, and for quite a few years he lived mainly in Europe, traveling constantly between the various Gucci offices. We stayed at his London pied-à-terre for a few nights in 2000 and learned that Al never cooked… his refrigerator was used only to keep wine chilled.
Al was married twice. His first marriage to Joan gave him a daughter and later a divorce. His second marriage to Ellen helped him put down roots in Arlington, VA, where he was living when he died from a heart attack on Aug. 31, 2008. I attended his funeral the following week, and was very moved by the many glowing tributes from legal associates and friends. I suspect he is now serving as chief counsel in the legal departments of Heaven – he loved the practice and the challenges of law throughout his life, and surely beyond it!
— by Tom Terry