William “Bill” Matheson Ahlenius passed away on December 18, 2024. Bill was a double Illini and a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy. He served as an instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and ultimately achieved the rank of Commander. Bill spent the majority of his career at the Peoria, Illinois, firm of Swain, Johnson, and Gard, making partner and becoming a well-respected pillar of the Peoria legal community. Bill’s granddaughter, Blair Engerman, followed in his footsteps and graduated from the College of Law in 2020.
Category: 1960s
David Murray ’60
David Murray, retired partner of Ward Murray Pace and Johnson of Sterling, Illinois, was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award by the FAA for 50 years of safe flying without an accident or violation of an FAA regulation.
John Greanias ’67
1/24/24: John Greanias has been awarded a research grant to develop a curriculum for academic study of the evolution of moral and ethical principles of United States law. The grant was awarded by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Greanias is presently a lecturer at Santa Clara University School of Law and a member of the faculty of Stanford Law School’s Trial Advocacy Workshop. He previously served as an Illinois Circuit Court Judge (1987- 2008).
Henry Kramer ’65
4/23/24: Henry E. “Woody” Kramer died on December 12, 2023, at the age of 82. He was a partner in the Brainard, Bower & Kramer law firm in Charleston, Illinois, and practiced law there for nearly 50 years.