Thursday, August 5, 2010
Page 3
Viewing, Services Scheduled for Matthew ‘Sandy’ Rae
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Services have been scheduled for Matthew “Sandy” Rae Jr., a longtime leader in the local bar, who died Tuesday at the age of 87.
A viewing will take place next Tuesday, Aug. 10, in the Fireside Room at St. Peter’s by the Sea Presbyterian Church, 6410 Palos Verdes Drive, Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 from 2 to 3 p.m., followed by services at 3:30 p.m.
A graveside service will take place at Skylawn Memorial Park off Highway 92 in San Mateo next Friday, Aug. 13. The time has not yet been determined, a daughter, Janet Sanderson Rae-Dupree, told the MetNews.
Besides Rae-Dupree, Rae is survived by daughters Margaret Sanderson Rae Mallory and Mary-Anna Sanderson Rae, by his sons-in-law, by three grandchildren, and by a sister, Margaret Sanderson Rae of Tucson, Ariz.
As news of Rae’s death spread yesterday, tributes continued to pour in from his colleagues in state and local bar groups and in politics.
Former State Bar President Sheldon Sloan called his friend of many years “one of the top people I have ever met in my life.” Rae, he said was “a real force of nature” who always had “something smart to say.”
Nancy Spero, executive vice chairman of the California Republican League, an organization of party moderates that Rae helped to found—serving as its second president—said she had fond memories of his involvement with the group.
“He had a great speakers’ voice, he was always kind and had a laugh that was unbelievably wonderful,” she said. “He really cared about California and he really cared about all of us and we will miss him.”
Rae’s activities included more than 50 years of involvement with the State Bar Conference of Delegates (now the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations). Deputy District Attorney Bea Dieringer, who served as a delegate for the first time in 1983, noted that when she joined, “Sandy was already a veteran of the Conference and a recognized leader of our delegation.”
She called him “a tireless, consummate legal reformer,” and commented:
“For decades, year after year, he freely gave of his valuable time, knowledge and experience to pursue justice through improvements in the law, not only through his work within the Conference of Delegates, but also through his longstanding service on the California Law Revision Commission, where he participated in drafting numerous revisions of the California Probate Code.”
Tim C. Bruinsma of Fulbright & Jaworski added that “Sandy was a legend in his home town of Manhattan Beach, as well as the broader community, and a tireless beach volleyball player, even well into his later years.”
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