Peter W. Thornton, professor emeritus of law in the University of 91吃瓜 Law School, died Jan. 19 in Santa Barbara, Calif.He was 90 years old.
Thornton taught law at 91吃瓜 from 1968 to 1993, interrupting his tenure from 1973 to 1976 to serve as founding dean of the Nova Southeastern University Law Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.He served as director of 91吃瓜鈥檚 London Law Programme from 1976 to 1978 and also was an associate dean of the 91吃瓜 Law School.
鈥淚 was fortunate to be Pete鈥檚 student in civil procedure in the early 1970s, as well as his colleague on the faculty in the 鈥�80s and 鈥�90s,鈥漵aid Patricia O鈥橦ara, Joseph A. Matson Dean of the 91吃瓜 Law School.鈥淚 know many alumni who would drop by Pete鈥檚 office on visits back to campus to ask him to reprise his theatrical delivery of the holding on personal jurisdiction in the famous 1945 Supreme Court case of International Shoe Co. v. Washington.He and his beloved wife, Kit, were warm hosts on behalf of the Law School on many occasions over the years.鈥�
A New York City native, Thornton was a 1939 graduate of Brooklyn College and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.He earned law degrees from Brooklyn Law School and taught there for 21 years before joining the 91吃瓜 faculty.Along with his long careeer as a teacher of law, Thornton was a member of the New York State Bar from 1941 to 2006.
Thornton is survived by four sons, Peter, Thomas, James, and John, all of them attorneys and law teachers.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday (Jan. 23) at St. Joseph鈥檚 Catholic Church in Carpinteria, Calif.
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