The 1980 Awardees

Sherman L. Cohn
(1932-2024)

BSFS 1954, JD 1957, LLM 1960
Washington DC

Sherman Cohn, a Washington DC attorney and law professor, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta, GA on October 11, 1980.

A summa cum laude graduate of the School of Foreign Service, Cohn enrolled in Georgetown Law School in 1954, and was a part of that community for a remarkable seven decades. The valedictorian of his class, Cohn clerked for Judge Charles Fahy of the DC Circuit Court and served in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice before becoming a full professor in 1965. At the time of his passing, he was the longest serving tenured professor in the University.

His online bio at the Law Center's web page highlights just some of these activities:

"A professor at the Law Center since 1965, Professor Cohn specializes in the fields of civil procedure, professional responsibility, and legal issues of complementary, alternative & integrative medicine, on which he also lectures at the Georgetown Medical Center. In addition, he teaches Jewish Law. He writes and speaks in each of those areas... He is a member of the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia bars and is also a member of the American Law Institute, the American Judicature Society, and the Society of American Law Teachers.

"He served for eleven years as the first national president of the American Inns of Court. He is a master of the Charles Fahy American Inn. He served as the Administrator of Preview of U.S. Supreme Court Cases from 1976-79 and as Director of Continuing Legal Education at the Law Center from 1977-84. From 1983-84, he served as chair of the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He has served as president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, as deputy president of the International Association, and as President of the Jewish Law Association. He has also served as a director of the Foundation for Mideast Communication. From 1985-87, he served as chair of the Georgetown Annual Fund. Earlier he had been chair of the Georgetown Law Fund...

"He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees (formerly Chair) of the Maryland University of Integrative Health, formerly known as the Tai Sophia Institute. He has served as the President of the National Acupuncture Foundation, chair of the Board of the Tai Hsuan Foundation, and a member of the Board of the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Alliance. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Integrative Health Policy Consortium and the Council for Court Excellence, the Board of Visitors of John Marshall Law School, and as a Trustee of the Jewish Council for the Aging."

Wrote professor Susan Bloch: "When asked to perform a task for alma mater, Sherm asks but two questions - 'Is the cause valuable? Can I help?' If the answer to those questions is yes, his answer is predictable. 'Yes, I will do it with 100 percent of my energy."

Sherman Cohn died in August 2024 at the age of 92.

Vincent B. Largay
(1931-2004)

BSS 1953
Waterbury, CT

Vincent Largay, the former chairman of Buell Industries and a benefactor to Georgetown University, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta, GA on October 11, 1980.

Born in Hudson, NY, Largay served as chairman of the Student Council and president of the Yard during his undergraduate years at Georgetown, receiving his degree in 1953. Following military service and a MBA from Harvard, Largay joined the family business, Anchor Fasteners of Waterbury. The firm merged with Buell Industries in 1961, whereupon Largay served as chairman of that firm until 1986.

A member of the Board of Governors and Board of Regents, Largay served on many civic and charitable boards, and was active in Catholic charities throughout New England. He was named to the Order of St. Gregory by Pope John Paul II.

Vincent Largay died in 2004 at the age of 72.

Cpt. Leonard R. Raish
(1919-2001)

BSFS 1939, LLB 1951
Washington, DC

Leonard R. ("Bob") Raish, a career naval officer and former chairman of the Alumni Annual Fund, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta, GA on October 11, 1980.

Born on a family farm in Windsor, NY, his obituary noted that "realizing early that farming life was not for him, and under the influence of his Swiss mother, he went to Washington in 1935 to attend the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service." Upon graduation in 1939, Raish was cycling through France when World War II broke out, whereupon he returned to the U.S. and joined the Navy, beginning a 28 year career in military service.

During World War II, Cpt. Raish served on the personal staff of Adm. Chester Nimitz as a communications officer. After the war, Raish returned to Georgetown to earn a law degree in 1951.

Following law school, Raish contracted polio, which was grounds for automatic discharge from the Navy. Raish appealed the discharge and continued for another 18 years in the service of his country, with significant assignments in the Department of the Navy, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and NATO.

Raish retired from the Navy in 1969 and began a second career: attorney. Named a senior partner at the Washington firm of Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, Raish specialized in telecommunications law for the next 25 years. During these years, he served on the board of the Hawthorne Foundation for People with Developmental Disabilities; the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and the Board of Governors of the Alumni Association, and at the time of the award was the outgoing chairman of the Alumni Annual Fund.

Bob Raish died in 2001 at the age of 82.

Thomas A. Reynolds Jr.
(1928-2008)

AB 1948, Honorary degree 1991
Chicago, IL

Thomas A. Reynolds Jr., a Chicago-based attorney and sports executive, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta, GA on October 11, 1980.

The second of three generations of the Reynolds family that attended Georgetown, Tom pursued his two passions in life-- law and baseball--with equal passion. Born in 1928 in Chicago, Reynolds attended Loyola Academy, Georgetown College, and the University of Michigan Law School before joining the Chicago law firm of Winston & Strawn, first as a attorney specializing in railroad litigation, and later as managing partner and chairman. He served at the firm for 41 years, leading an expansion which took the firm to over 900 attorneys worldwide.

In 1987, the Chicago Tribune referred to Reynolds as "a high powered but low-profiled Irishman who gets deals done with a smile, a handshake, and when necessary, a court order or two."

A lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, the 31 year old Reynolds was one of a group of investors who bought a 48 percent share in the Chicago White Sox in 1959. Failing to secure majority ownership, Reynolds partnered with William Bartholmay to buy the Milwaukee Braves for $5.5 million in 1962.

"Frankly, they did it because the Cubs weren't for sale," his son Thomas III said in 1987.

The club was moved to Atlanta in 1966 and sold to broadcast executive Ted Turner for $10 million in 1976. Two decades later, Reynolds was named by Gov. James Thompson to chair of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which led the development effort to build a new stadium for the White Sox to prevent it from moving to Florida.

Reynolds knew a good business deal when he saw it. According to the Chicago Tribune, Reynolds led a group of Chicago investors who bought the bankrupt assets of the Reading Railroad in 1972 for the reported price of $25,000. With its infrastructure worth many times that, the assets were later purchased by Conrail (now Norfolk Southern) for $160 million.

A board member of numerous civic, community, and church activities in the Chicago area, Thomas Reynolds Jr. died in 2008 at the age of 79.

Hughes Spalding Jr.
(1918-2003)

AB 1939
Atlanta, GA

Hughes Spalding Jr., an Atlanta attorney, received the John Carroll Award in ceremonies held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta, GA on October 11, 1980.

A second generation recipient of the John Carroll Award, Spalding followed in the footsteps of his father, attending Georgetown Prep and the College, graduating in 1939.

A legal career awaited. "I was always going to law school," Spalding recounted in 1981. "The path was there and I followed the path." Following law school at the University of Georgia, and military service in World War II, he became a partner at the firm of King and Spalding in 1946, serving there until his death in 2003.

A member of numerous civic and philanthropic boards in the Atlanta area, Spalding served on Georgetown University's Board of Regents and led the effort to bring the John Carroll Awards to Atlanta. He was named to the Order of St. Gregory by Pope John Paul II.

Hughes Spalding Jr. died in 2003 at the age of 85.