Richard D. Grossman of Warren, Vermont, died at home on July 18, 2016 , surrounded by his loving family. Mr. Grossman was born in Syracuse, New York, on February 26, 1927, the son of Lionel O. Grossman and Clara Fitzer Grossman.
He proudly served his country in the United States Coast Guard during WW II. Until his last days, he continued to carry a copy of his certificate of service and his identification card in his wallet.
Mr. Grossman started his career as a journalist and newscaster in the early days of television with WHEN news, the CBS outlet, between 1951 and 1956 and appearing on radio programs. He continued to appear on numerous commercial and public television programs for most of his life in Syracuse.
Mr. Grossman attended Syracuse University School of Law and was in private practice for 60 years. He practiced law with his father. Subsequently, he practiced with the law firm of Grossman, Kinney, Dwyer & Harrigan. His 60 years of practice included a varied background in criminal and civil trial practice with an emphasis on litigation, white-collar criminal cases, real estate property land use and development and corporate law.
Beyond his career as a trial lawyer, Mr. Grossman was a professional journalist writing principally as a columnist for the Syracuse Post Standard. His column, titled “As a matter of Law,” appeared on the Op-Ed pages for more than 11 years and was routinely a feature of Newhouse News wire service where it appeared with some regularity in approximately 90 newspapers throughout the United States.
In the mid -1970s Mr. Grossman became actively involved with Syracuse University School of Law. Together with his brother Murray Grossman, he established the Lionel O. Grossman mock trial competition which is still considered one of the foremost programs operating within the nation’s law schools. Mr. Grossman has acted as an adviser and a judge in competitions from the outset.
In addition to a long and storied legal career, Mr. Grossman had a varied record of community, political and volunteer public services ranging from serving as a member of Metropolitan Development of Onondaga County to serving as a trustee of the NYS Interest Only Lawyers Account Fund (IOLA), which provides grants for legal services to the disenfranchised and the improvement of the delivery of legal services throughout New York state.
Closer to home, he was an officer of the Syracuse Cerebral Palsy Association (currently known as Enable), an organization formed by his father in 1946 after his daughter was born and diagnosed with the disease.
Mr. Grossman maintained a home in the Mad River Valley of Vermont for over 50 years. Initially he was brought up to the Mad River Valley for the skiing, but as his life progressed, his love of fast cars and flying planes were surpassed by his passion for his 140-year-old farmhouse in Warren, Vermont, where he lived with his beloved wife and his dogs and maintained unwavering passion for his gardens and his 5 p.m. vodka tonic.
Mr. Grossman is survived by his wife, Mame Langan Grossman of Warren; his brother, Murray Grossman, M.D.; his sister, Susan Berglowe; his son, Richard Jr. of Syracuse, NY; his daughter, Clara (Coco) Dowley and her partner Erik Jonsson of Seattle and her daughter Rose Selena Dowley; his daughters, Samantha Breese Crasco of New York City and Liza Queen and her husband Kyle Jones of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and her 4- month-old daughter Jane Rae Jones.
He was predeceased by his sister, Faith Grossman, and his stepmother, Anita Grossman.
A celebration of Richard Grossman’s life will be held at the Cavalry Club in Manlius, New York, on Saturday, August 27, at 5 p.m. and at Chez Henri, in Warren, Vermont, on Saturday, December 3, at 5 p.m.
