James Patrick Fenton, 75, passed away peacefully and surrounded by love on Monday, December 2, 2024, at Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne.

Born August 13, 1949, on Commons Road in Cork City, County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Jim immigrated to the U.S. with his mother and two younger brothers on September 16, 1954, sailing on the Cunard ship RMS Mauretania from the Port of Cobh, Ireland. On board, Jim enjoyed his first ever glimpse of a motion picture.  He watched with over a thousand other passengers as the ship sailed into New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty came into view.  The family joined their father who had immigrated early the previous year and eventually settled in Nyack, New York. When Jim was 10, his sister, Liz (affectionately known as "the Yank"), was born, completing their family.

Jim started his formal education at St. Ann's school in Nyack, where the nuns quickly squelched his brogue – "that" not "dat." Given his significant academic achievements, at age 14, Jim received a full scholarship to attend Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary and moved to New York City, where he graduated with honors in 1967.  He then attended Columbia University, graduating in 1971 with a B.A. Jim came of age in one of the epicenters of political unrest and frequently participated in anti-war activities and the Columbia Strike of 1968. Famously, Jim slept through a Molotov cocktail being thrown into the ROTC offices on the first floor of his dorm and had to be roused by firemen who were evacuating the building.

Jim chose to pursue a career in the law in part because his own father was once victimized by an unethical lawyer. When Jim arrived in Bloomington, Indiana from New York to attend the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 1973, he lacked a driver's license and couldn't find - according to him - a decent bagel or the New York Times anywhere. Eventually the culture shock wore off and he went on to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Indiana Law Journal and graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, in 1976.

Upon graduation, Jim served as a law clerk to Judge Jesse E. Eschbach of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and thereafter went into private practice with the law firm of Barrett, Barrett & McNagny, where he became lifelong friends with Alan VerPlanck.  In 1996, representing the City of New Haven, the two would, against all odds, defeat the Adams Center Landfill expansion before the Indiana Hazardous Waste Facility Site Approval Authority. Thirty years later, Jim came out of retirement and, working pro bono, blocked the location of a proposed electronics smelter on the very same land. In 1997, Jim and Al joined Lee Eilbacher and Harry Scott to form Eilbacher Scott, later known as Eilbacher Fletcher, which eventually merged with another firm to form Fletcher Van Gilder. Jim was an accomplished litigator and one of the finest practitioners to grace a courtroom.  He was involved in a number of high-profile cases, including FWCS school desegregation, CERCLA (Superfund) cases, the Indiana Toll Road Lease, and he overturned the largest libel verdict at the time ever entered against a media defendant in Indiana. In short, he was a lawyer's lawyer and a grand old man of the bar.

A voracious reader and political debater, Jim made many friends (and some enemies) in his life's work of defending the underdog from the forces of greed and corruption. He wrote numerous op-eds for the Journal Gazette touching on legal and historical topics.  Jim took seriously his responsibility as a lawyer to further the public's understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system and he devoted professional time and resources to help those who could not access legal services.  For many years he participated in the "We The People" constitutional educational program and took great delight in working closely with the students of North Side High School to prepare them for the National Finals in 2000.  He also taught classes in Media Law at IPFW and later led courses for adults on the Constitution. Deeply troubled by the rise of illiberalism and autocracy in his adopted country, as Jim's illness progressed, he took some solace in the fact that he would not have to endure the incoming administration.

In 1986, Jim married his wife Juli and became stepfather to her children, Kelly and Nick. When Juli passed away from breast cancer in 1995, Jim continued to care for her kids and remained a vital and influential force for them the rest of his life. He enjoyed over 25 years of companionship and love with his wife, Cathleen, who survives him.

Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Cathleen Shrader; stepchildren Kelly Rolf (Michael Hansen) and Nick Rolf (Caitlin Halloran); grandchildren Julian Hansen, Sam Hansen, and Esra Rolf; sister Elizabeth (Neal) Talbot; brother John Fenton (Bridget Ahern); nieces Kaitlyn Fenton, Courtney Fenton, Aimee Talbot, Erin Conway, and Renny Conway; nephews Erik Fenton, Shea Talbot, and Callahan Conway; sisters-in-law Christina Buchan and Cynthia (Joseph) Conway; and many dear friends and family.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, John and Catherine (Ahern) Fenton; brother Noel Fenton; nephew Sgt. Matthew Fenton; wife Juli Fenton; brother-in-law Bruce Buchan; and his beloved dog and best friend, Murphy.

Mass of Christian Burial is 10:30 a.m. Saturday, December 14, 2024, at St. Jude Catholic Church, Fort Wayne, with viewing one hour prior. Visitation also from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, December 13, at Divine Mercy Funeral Home, 3500 Lake Ave. Burial will be in the Catholic Cemetery. Memorials to Indiana Legal Services or Humane Fort Wayne. Online condolences may be left at www.divinemercyfuneralhome.com.