William Hartman Askey, a fifty-seven year member of the Lycoming Law Association, died on April 11, 2008.

Memorial resolutions were adopted by the Court on December 12, 2008:

In The Court Of Common Pleas Of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, 07-02796

IN THE MATTER OF THE DEATH OF WILLIAM HARTMAN ASKEY, ESQUIRE

RESOLUTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGES OF THE COURT:

The Committee appointed to prepare resolutions memorializing the life of WILLIAM HARTMAN ASKEY reports as follows:

1. William Hartman Askey was born on June 21, 1919, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the son of Charles F. and Marguerite Hartman Askey. He died on April 11, 2008 at the age of 88.
2. He was educated in the Williamsport School District and graduated from Bucknell University in 1941 with a political science degree.
3. During World War II, and from 1941 to 1946, he served with the United States Army Air Corps. He was honorably discharged as a Captain and later promoted to the rank of Major while on inactive status.
4. In 1951, he earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and began a career as a practicing attorney in Williamsport that endured for 54 years.
5. During his active practice as a lawyer, where he specialized in real estate and estate law, he also served as a United States Magistrate Judge. He was first appointed as a part-time United States Commissioner from 1964 to 1971. After passage of the Federal Magistrates Act, he was appointed on June 21, 1971, to the position of part-time United States Magistrate, a position Congress later renamed Magistrate Judge. He retired from that position on December 31, 2007, after more than 43 years of service in the federal judiciary.
6. He was a dedicated and active member of the bar of Lycoming County, serving as the Secretary of the Lycoming Law Association in 1959 and 1960 and serving as the President in 1968. At the 2003 banquet of the Lycoming Law Association, he was honored as a 50 year member of the organization. At the 2004 banquet, he received the Lycoming Law Association’s Equal Access to Justice Award in recognition for his extraordinary volunteer work which demonstrated outstanding achievement and commitment to equal justice for the poor.
7. He was a member of many professional organizations including the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Federal Magistrate Judges Association, and the Federal Bar Association as an honorary member. He was also an active member of the Charles F. Greevy, Jr., American Inn of Court from its first meeting in September, 1998.
8. With regard to his civic service, he was a member of the Board of Directors of AAA North Penn since 1973, served as solicitor from 1973 to 1998 and as President from 1993 to 1995. He was active in the Red Cross serving on the local Board of the American Red Cross, as the Chairman of the Lycoming County Red Cross Blood Program from 1953 to 1954 and as the President of the Northeast Regional Red Cross Blood Program from 1962 to 1968. He was President of the Williamsport Community Concert Association from 1962 to 1968 and served on the Board of Directors of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Susquehanna Legal Services and the Appalachia Educational Laboratory. He was a former Trustee and Secretary of the YWCA and a former member of the Board of Directors and Past President of the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
9. With regard to his religious service, he was a member and former Vestryman of Christ Episcopal Church.
10. With regard to his fraternal service, he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Alpha Delta, and a member of Lodge 106 of the Free and Accepted Masons since 1941. He was also a member of Williamsport Consistory, AASR since 1941, where he was a member of the Choir since 1952 and past presiding officer of the Williamsport Chapter Rose Croix. He was also a member of the Ross Club in Williamsport.
11. He received numerous awards and commendations including, Phi Eta Sigma Honorary Freshman Scholastic Society, Bucknell University, 1941; Young Man of the Year, Williamsport Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1954; Benjamin Rush Award of the Lycoming Medical Society, 1956; Dedicated Volunteer Service Award, American Red Cross, 1973; Distinguished Service Award, American Cancer Society, 1978; Outstanding Service Award, Appalachia Educational Laboratory, 1985; Volunteer Service Award, American Cancer Society, 1992; and Proclamation in 1992 of William H. Askey Day in the City of Williamsport.
12. Surviving are his wife, Betty Arlene Moore Askey, his daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth P. and Richard J. Tyler, and two grandchildren.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, joined in by the Lycoming County Bar, do hereby recognize and continue to mourn the passing of William Hartman Askey and remember him as kind gentleman who upheld and exemplified the highest standards of the legal profession.

BE IT RESOLVED FURTHER, that this Court and this Bar do hereby extend to Judge Askey’s surviving wife, Betty and to his daughter, Elizabeth and her husband, Richard J. Tyler, and to his two grandchildren, our deep and heartfelt expression of sympathy.

AND BE IT RESOLVED FINALLY that these Resolutions be spread at length upon the records of the Court of Common Pleas of Lycoming County with copies to Mr. Askey’s spouse and daughter, and be published in the Lycoming Reporter.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Honorable Malcolm Muir
D. Toni Byrd, Esquire
Charles A. Szybist, Esquire
Ronald C. Travis, Esquire
Robert Wise, Esquire　

ORDER OF COURT

AND NOW, this 12th day of December, 2008, in consideration of the Resolutions presented by the Committee appointed to prepare resolutions memorializing the life of William Hartman Askey, it is hereby ORDERED and DECREED that the Resolutions herewith submitted and attached be adopted as an official expression of the Lycoming County Bar and this Court; that the same be spread upon the records of the Court; and that copies of this Resolution be delivered to the spouse and daughter of William Hartman Askey, Esquire; and it is further ORDERED and DECREED that the Resolutions be printed in the Lycoming Reporter.

BY THE COURT,

Kenneth D. Brown, President Judge
William S. Kieser, Judge
Nancy L. Butts, Judge
Dudley N. Anderson, Judge
Richard A. Gray, Judge