Frederick C. Leydig 1925-2012
Frederick C. Leydig, 87, passed away April 17, 2012, at his home in Barrington with his wife of 62 years, Patricia, by his side.
Fred was born in Denver, Colo., and grew up in Detroit, Mich. He attended and was a proud alum of the Jesuit University of Detroit High School. In the midst of World War II, Fred earned his B.S. in chemical engineering (1945) from the Illinois Institute of Technology through the Navy's V-12 officer training program, was commissioned an ensign and served aboard the battleship USS New Jersey. While attending IIT, he earned varsity letters in tennis and basketball. As IIT's "giant" center, Fred played against such future basketball greats as George Mikan and Otto Graham.
Attending night school, Fred received his J.D. from DePaul Law School in 1950. He was employed in the patent department of Standard Oil Company and, in 1954, joined the intellectual property firm of Carlson, Pitzner, Hubbard & Wolf, which later came to bear his name: Leydig, Voit & Mayer Ltd. He became one of the nation's preeminent intellectual property attorneys. Testament to his leadership in the firm and renown as a lawyer, the firm continues to bear his name more than 20 years after his retirement.
Along the way, Fred was chairman of Young Republicans of Illinois (1953 - 55), president of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (1980), president of the United Way of Arlington Heights (1965 - 66), and board member of the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Law Club of Chicago. He was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Fred married Patricia Schwefer in 1949. Together they shared a wonderful life raising a family, enjoying sports with family and friends and, simply, being together until the very end. Fred will be lovingly remembered and deeply missed. Sadly, Fred was predeceased by his eldest son, Gregory, in 2010. Fred is survived by his loving daughters, Deborah (Bruce) Pfaff and Suzann (Lothar) Schubring; his son, Gary (Laurie); and his grandchildren, Liza Pfaff O'Donoghue, Samuel Pfaff (Angela), Jessica Korzelik, Max Schubring, Marc Schubring, Ralf Schubring, Katharine Leydig and Kristen Leydig.
Donations can gratefully be made to the American Cancer Society, Barrington Chapter, www.cancer.org or Hospice and Palliative Care of Northeastern Illinois, www.hospiceanswers.org.