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Longtime Akron labor attorney passes away
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 9, 2016
As an FBI agent one of William B. Gore’s first assignments was to help investigate the 1964 disappearance of three civil rights workers in Mississippi, who were later found murdered.
But the longtime labor attorney is better known for zealously representing unions in Ohio and other parts of the country.
Gore passed away on Feb. 1 at Hospice of VNS in Copley, Ohio while surrounded by his wife, four children and friends. He was 77.
“My father spent most of his life fighting for the working man,” said his son Scott Gore, a partner at the labor and employment firm Laner Muchin in Chicago. “He had very strong opinions about where the country should be headed and what people should be able to earn for an honest day’s work. Dad tried to ensure that people were able to make enough to buy a home, raise a family and make sure their kids were properly educated.”
“He was a great dad,” said his son Kevin, president of DMI Music & Media Solutions in California. “He inspired us all in different ways. You can look at each Gore child and find a path to Bill Gore’s passions.
“My brother Scott became an attorney, my brother Mark parlayed dad’s love of golf into a career as a leader in that field and I was inspired by my dad’s love of music to find opportunities in that business,” said Kevin. “My sister Erin is a reflection of my dad’s commitment to help people and give back.”
Born on April 16, 1938 in Akron, Gore graduated from Buchtel High School. He received his bachelor’s degree at Ohio University in Athens and his juris doctor from The Ohio State University. During his years at Ohio University, Gore played golf for the Bobcats, qualifying for the U.S. Amateur.
Gore began his legal career as an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Afterwards, he took a job as a prosecutor in the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, where he worked with his childhood friend retired Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Marvin Shapiro.
“Billy Gore and I went to grade school and high school together,” said Judge Shapiro. “He was a fun loving guy. Growing up Billy lived across the street from Good Park Golf Course and I lived several blocks away. We spent time playing, practicing and caddying at the golf course.
“We were teammates on Buchtel High School’s golf team. Billy got a golf scholarship to Ohio University in Athens.”
Judge Shapiro said when Gore left the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office he teamed up with attorney Robert Shuff.
“Mr. Shuff represented unions and over the years Bill Gore became known for his staunch representation of unions and their members.
“In the early ‘80s, he and I had a partnership with Bruce Laybourne and Alfred Russell Smith,” said Judge Shapiro. “In 1991, I went on the bench but Bill continued to practice with various attorneys. He was a very good lawyer and a hard worker.”
When Gore retired in 2010, he was an attorney at Macala, Gore & Piatt in Canton. The firm handles pension and health plans for labor unions.
Tim Piatt, an associate at the firm since 2007, said Gore always made time to answer other attorneys’ questions.
“Bill would bring me to meetings with him and he explained all the intricacies of what the firm does,” said Piatt. “He was really a mentor to me and helped me get where I am today.”
Jennifer Lucas, a former legal assistant to Gore, described him as “very honest, loyal and faithful to his clients.
“As important as his clients were to him, his family came first,” she said.
Robert Laybourne, a partner at Laybourne Law in Akron, said his father Bruce introduced him to Bill Gore in the early ‘70s.
“The first time we met we played golf together,” said Robert Laybourne. “He was a fantastic golfer. I got to know him much better after he became my dad’s law partner in the early ‘80s.
“I was an associate in their firm and Bill Gore was one of my mentors. He was a very talented and well-respected labor attorney. He was very driven. He taught me a lot about labor law and how to handle clients and stressed the importance of ethics and work ethic,” he said.
“He was a huge character and we had a lot of laughs and good times.”
Gore’s son Scott said his father made time to attend his children’s sporting events, coaching youth baseball and his sister Erin’s golf team at Our Lady of the Elms High School.
He said his father helped to develop his brother Mark’s golf talent.
“My brother became a professional golfer after he graduated from The University of Akron,” Scott said. “He was head pro at the Firestone Country Club in the late ‘90s.”
Today Mark Gore serves as vice president of golf for Firestone’s parent ClubCorp.
“My dad loved the game of golf, supported it through his charitable work and I am proud that he instilled that passion in me,” said Mark.
Gore spent 46 years as a volunteer for the Bridgestone Invitational and Northern Ohio Golf Charities, where he also served as a trustee. He was tournament chairman of the World Series of Golf in 1982 and was part of the announcer committee for the tournament since 2003.
He served on the board of the Fairlawn Country Club for several years and was president of the board in 1984.
Scott said his father would always take him to his law office on Saturdays.
“He was one of the best lawyers and we always had a mutual respect for the law even though I represent management which is the opposite of what he did.
“Dad is a legend in the labor field,” said Scott. “When ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) came out in 1974, he started some of the first health and welfare and pension plans for unions in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“Some of the things he did served as models for other pension and health plans around the country.”
Scott said watching the movie “Mississippi Burning” with his father was “amazing” because Gore could point out what was true and what was not.
“He was a larger than life guy and he always took care of us,” said Scott. “He loved the Buckeyes, the Cleveland Indians, Broadway musicals, traveling with his wife Ginnie (stepmom) and playing golf with the Blue tee golfers at Fairlawn Country Club. He was a great golfer, but he always struggled with putting.”
Kevin said his father had an “infectious laugh that made you want to laugh along with him.
“During calling hours at the funeral home, people stood in line for quite some time just to pay their respects,” said Kevin. “Many of them shook my hand and said ‘your dad mentored me,’ or ‘he took me to lunch a few times each year just to talk about how I was doing.’
“I heard so many stories about how he connected with people. It was a reminder that he was simply a nice man and a great, great dad who cared for people and loved helping others.”
Gore was laid to rest on Feb. 5 at Rose Hill Burial Park in Akron.
The longtime Akron resident leaves behind his wife Virginia; sons Scott (Pam), Kevin (Gina) and Mark (Marita); daughter Erin (Ty); grandchildren Sophie, Bailey, Isabella, Harris, Malia, Ty, Anthony and Andrew; brother Jeff (Amy) and many nieces and nephews.
His mother Virginia (Cohn) and father Gilbert Gore preceded him in death.