Former Chief Justice Rendlen dies at 87

Former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Albert L. Rendlen, who died Monday, was known for both his charisma and his strong opinions.

They aren’t something that his former brother-in law will forget.

“He was an avid Republican and all my family was Democratic,” said Robert Clayton II, the presiding judge of Marion County. “It made for some lively conversations and some interesting Sunday dinners.”

Rendlen, 87 when he died, served as a judge for the state for more than 17 years. He was on the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District from 1974 to 1977 and then on the Supreme Court from 1977 to 1992. He served as chief justice from January 1982 through June 1985.

Former Missouri Supreme Court Judge Joseph Simeone recalls how their chambers were next to each other on the court.

“He would always come in my chambers and we would discuss cases,” he said. “He was a sounding-off board for me. He was inquisitive and asked a lot of questions, and he delved into the facts of the law well.”

Missouri Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. said in a statement, “He was a legal giant of his time. By any account, he was a dynamic and engaging presence, and his loss is a great loss to the state of Missouri.”

Retired Eastern District Court of Appeals Judge James R. Reinhard said Rendlen’s political views never prevented a friendship.

“We had different political philosophies and the same legal philosophies,” he said. “We were both conservative in the criminal law and had compassion in the civil law.”

Prior to becoming an attorney, Rendlen served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war he returned home and received his law degree from the University of Michigan and went into private practice at Rendlen & Rendlen in Hannibal with his father, Charles E. Rendlen, and two brothers, Charles E. Rendlen Jr. and Branham Rendlen.

Coming from a family of attorneys, he never hesitated to get others into the law

“He talked me into going into law school,” Clayton said. “I was thinking of going into the Air Force or the Navy after I had finished my studies at Duke. But he told me I was crazy to do that and just go to law school. He was right at the time, of course – it being 1962.”

Attorney Stephen Gaunt, of Steelman, Gaunt & Horsefield in Rolla, said Rendlen was a great influence on him when he was starting out as an attorney. Gaunt clerked for the judge while Rendlen was on the Supreme Court.

“He was a great man of integrity and that made an impression on me,” Gaunt said. “He taught me a lot regarding concise legal writing and reasoning and analyzing things succinctly. He gave me a real idea of what professionalism was and what conduct judges expect from attorneys.”

Supreme Court Judge Mary Rhodes Russell first knew Rendlen through her parents – they all went to school together in Hannibal. Her father told her a story that while in high school, a fellow student had absconded with everyone’s money for graduation cards.

“This was during the Depression, so it was pretty devastating,” she said. “Judge Rendlen was able to perform justice. He brought the man back to return everyone’s money.”

Rendlen is survived by his wife, Dona, and his two children, Albert Rendlen Jr. and Susan Rendlen Williams. Online condolences may be made at www.james
odonnellfuneralhome.com.  MO