The Honorable Robert Lee Karwacki

The Honorable Robert L. Karwacki, died of kidney failure on Monday, June 9, 2014 at his home in Chester, MD. The retired Maryland Court of Appeals judge was 80. Born on August 2, 1933 in Baltimore, Maryland to the late Lee Daniel Karwacki and Marie Budzynski Karwacki, he was raised in the Graceland Park neighborhood of Dundalk, Maryland. A 1950 Mount St. Joseph High School graduate, he earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Maryland. Judge Karwacki was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1956. In 1957 he joined Miles & Stockbridge law firm and later became a partner. Except for a two year leave to work as an Assistant Attorney General, he was a litigator with Miles & Stockbridge until his appointment to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City (then known as the Supreme Bench) in 1973. He served as the administrative Judge of that Court from 1978-1984; became an associate judge of the Court of Special Appeals and held the post from 1984-1990. In 1990 Judge Karwacki was appointed to the state’s highest court by Gov. William Donald Schaefer. After his retirement in 1997, he enjoyed his return to the trial courts where he continued to hear cases as a retired judge. During his years of practice and on the bench, he was committed to public service. He chaired the Henderson Commission from 1965-1969, which revised the testamentary laws of the State. He was named as the President of the Baltimore City School Board, during the difficult years of 1970-1971. He was appointed to the Juvenile Justice Commission in 1975. He was a member of the Lawyers Roundtable of Baltimore, the Wednesday Law Club, an instructor at the University of Maryland School of Law, a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation and recipient of A Man for All Seasons award of the St. Thomas More Society. Judge Karwacki is survived by his wife, the former Marion Elizabeth Harper; children: Ann Karwacki Goodman and her husband Jamie of Centreville, Maryland, L. Daniel Karwacki and his wife Kelly of Edgemere, Maryland and John Robert Karwacki and his wife Cindy of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.; a sister, Mary Jo Martin of Baltimore; and beloved grandchildren: Matthew, Jessica, Rebecca, Robert Lee II, Faith, Emily, Jesse Deal and Chelsea. His first wife, Patricia Deal Karwacki, died in 1972. A memorial Mass will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 1:00 pm at St. Christopher's Roman Catholic Church, 1861 Harbor Drive, Chester, MD. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations may be made to the Hospice of Queen Anne’s County, 255 Comet Drive, Centreville, MD 21617 or the Chesapeake College Foundation, P.O. Box 8, Wye Mills, MD 21679. Online condolences may be made at www.fhnfuneralhome.com

The Honorable Robert Lee Karwacki

August 2, 1933 - June 9, 2014