Lyle Elmer Strom

Lyle Elmer Strom
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
In office
November 2, 1995 – December 1, 2023
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
In office
1987–1994
Preceded byC. Arlen Beam
Succeeded byWilliam G. Cambridge
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
In office
October 28, 1985 – November 2, 1995
Appointed byRonald Reagan
Preceded byAlbert Gerard Schatz
Succeeded byJoseph Bataillon
Personal details
Born(1925-01-06)January 6, 1925
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedDecember 1, 2023(2023-12-01) (aged 98)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
EducationCreighton University (B.A.)
Creighton University School of Law (J.D.)

Lyle Elmer Strom (January 6, 1925 – December 1, 2023) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska from 1985 until his death in 2023.

Education and career

[edit]

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, on January 6, 1925,[1] Strom received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Creighton University in 1950 and a Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law in 1953.[2] He was a United States Naval Reserve Ensign during World War II, from 1943 to 1946.[2] He was in private practice in Omaha from 1953 to 1985, also serving as an adjunct professor for the Creighton University School of Law in 1958.[3] He was a clinical professor at the Creighton University School of Law, in the Robert Spire Intern Program, from 1996 through 2005.[2][4]

Federal judicial service

[edit]

On September 27, 1985, Strom was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska vacated by Albert Gerard Schatz. Strom was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 25, 1985 and received his commission on October 28, 1985. He served as Chief Judge from 1987 to 1994, assuming senior status on November 2, 1995. On June 6, 2017, Strom took inactive senior status in December 2017, meaning that while he remained a federal judge, he no longer heard cases or participated in the business of the court.[5][4]

Observations

[edit]

Strom stated that his "vision for the law is that we restore the professionalism and civility that were its trademarks when [he] was admitted to practice…[6] The Nebraska high school mock trial competition is now named after Strom and is referred to as the Judge Lyle Strom High School Mock Trial Championship.[7]

Personal life

[edit]

Strom married Regina Ann Kelly on July 31, 1950. The couple raised seven children until her death on February 1, 2001.[8] His daughter, Mary Hawkins, is the current President of Bellevue University in Bellevue, Nebraska.[9] She has said of her late father, "He was adament about treating people with respect, and he modeled that. And there was our work ethic. I don't care what he did, he told us that if a job's worth doing it's worth doing right."[8]

One of Strom's other daughters, Major General Cassie A. Strom, retired in 2015 as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Judge Advocate General Corps. In this position, she was the principal advisor and liaison to The Judge Advocate General of the Air Force on Air National Guard legal matters and provided leadership, strategic planning, and management of the Air National Guard Judge Advocate program. Major General Strom deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina twice and worked a variety of international peacekeeping exercises, serving in the Department of Defense Office of General Counsel in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and acted as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, United States Transportation Command.[10]

In 1997 Strom's daughter, Susan Frances Strom, died in the Heaven's Gate cult mass suicide.[11]

Lyle Strom died in Omaha on December 1, 2023, at the age of 98.[12]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Supplement to Who's who in America. Marquis Who's Who. 7 June 1987. ISBN 9780837971001 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c "Strom, Lyle Elmer - District of Nebraska - United States District Court". www.ned.uscourts.gov.
  3. ^ "Lyle Strom - Ballotpedia".
  4. ^ a b "Strom, Lyle Elmer - Federal Judicial Center". www.fjc.gov.
  5. ^ writer, Emerson Clarridge / World-Herald staff. "Federal Judge Lyle Strom to take inactive senior status in December".
  6. ^ "The Honorable Lyle E. Strom". American Inns of Court. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  7. ^ "THE DAILY RECORD - Print View". www.omahadailyrecord.com.
  8. ^ a b Curtain, Eugene (2015-03-04). "Justice served Lyle Strom remains on bench at 90". Omaha World-Herald, omaha.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  9. ^ "Mary B Hawkins, Bellevue University: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  10. ^ Release, Press (2023-11-16). "Press Release: Kehoe Campaign Launches Veterans for Kehoe". The Missouri Times. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
  11. ^ Adams, Katherine Boo; Lorraine; Adams, Katherine Boo; Lorraine (6 April 1997). "TWO LIVES, TWO DEATHS" – via washingtonpost.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Honorable Lyle E. Strom". Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler Mortuaries. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.

Sources

[edit]
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
1985–1995
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
1987–1994
Succeeded by