When George Gregory passed away last week, many of us at ICLE were heartbroken. Those of us who worked closely with George had gotten to know him on a personal level and cared deeply for him. He was a legend in law practice and in CLE. He spent most of his career giving back to the profession, and his kindness and selfless sharing showed through every day.
George was set to moderate the Annual Drafting Estate Planning Documents seminar next month in Plymouth and to present and moderate at the Probate Institute in May and June. He helped ICLE plan the drafting seminar since its inception 31 years ago.
In 2017, ICLE presented George with the George A. Cooney Society Award for his longstanding contributions to CLE. George had an uncanny knack for explaining the intersection of probate and estate planning with tax, family business dynamics, and litigation. I don’t believe anyone presented estate planning and tax topics more frequently over the past two decades than George. He spoke for ICLE more than 75 times dating back to 1992! He also become a regular in the ICLE studio. He was an amazing contributor and supporter of ICLE. He routinely sent us a report each time he attended big national estate planning conferences about the topics and speakers he liked (and didn’t like) to help us in planning our future programs. George served on ICLE’s Probate & Estate Planning Advisory Board for many years. He answered questions regularly in the ICLE Community. He was a former chairperson of the Probate and Estate Planning Section and wrote numerous articles for the section’s journal. He was also a past chairperson of the Taxation Section.
George was in the audience for the very first ICLE technology seminar I planned 23 years ago. He promptly introduced himself and told me how much he loved contributing to ICLE, and how he looked forward to working with me too. His wife, Lorraine New, also spoke for ICLE for many years. His son, Eric Gregory, is now a frequent ICLE contributor, including at the upcoming Labor & Employment Law Institute. George is the founder of an entire family of ICLE contributors!
We are going to miss George very much. He exemplified the highest traditions of the bar. He gave generously to the bar in support of education; he volunteered his time to the profession; and he did it all with zest, energy, and a terrific sense of humor.