Retired Partner Bruce L. Castor, a firm leader, respected trusts and estates lawyer, and avid golfer whose career at Ballard spanned nearly five decades, died on July 29. He was 95.
Bruce received his law degree in 1954 from University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he had served as editor-in-chief of the Law Review. In short order, he took the bar exam and was inducted into the U.S. Army—and ultimately assigned to Stuttgart, Germany, where he served as a counterintelligence agent.
His legal career began in 1956, following his discharge from the Army, when he joined Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, as it was then called, as an associate. He rose to partner in 1965 and became managing partner of the firm in 1979. Bruce served multiple terms on the firm's Elected Board and led the Estates Group (now Private Client Services). Clients relied on his steady demeanor and his expertise in estate planning, estate and trust administration, and related areas.
"Bruce was the epitome of the three Cs—calm, cool, and collected," retired Partner Robert McQuiston remembered. "He had a remarkable gift for defusing even the most emotionally charged family situations by crafting a path forward that served his clients' best interests."
Tall, engaging, and beautifully dressed, Bruce wore suits to the office during the week and sport jackets on Saturdays. Senior Counsel Regina O'Brien Thomas vividly remembers one particular Saturday when she looked up from a crushingly complicated litigation matter on which she was working and found Bruce standing there. He offered his help on the case, which turned on an esoteric principle of 1920s contract law that he knew well. "He stayed with me the whole day," she said. "He was smart, engaging, and very helpful."
Bruce retired from the firm in 2004.
While his profession was law, his passion was golf. He began playing as a boy in Philadelphia, went on to captain the golf team at Lafayette College, and played throughout his life—both for pleasure and in competition—at courses around the world. Golfing with his children and grandson was a particular joy. His partners at Ballard Spahr frequently asked him to arrange for clients to play at the vaunted Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, where he was a member. He happily accommodated, since one of the club rules was that a member had to accompany a guest on the course.
His community service activities included many years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Home of Aged Couples and Aged Persons, and he was a ruling elder and trustee of Abington Presbyterian church.
Bruce is survived by Diane Castor, his wife of 65 years; his son and daughter-in-law, Bruce L. Castor Jr. and Elizabeth Castor; his daughter, Edie Breyer Castor; a brother, Dean Castor; grandchildren Bruce L. Castor III and Alexandra Castor; and many nieces and nephews.
Services will take place on Wednesday, August 13, at Abington Presbyterian Church, 1082 Old York Road, Abington, PA, with visitation from 10 to 11:15 a.m. followed by the funeral at 11:30 a.m. Burial will take place after the service at Whitemarsh Memorial Park, 1169 Limekiln Pike, Ambler, PA.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Bruce's name be sent to the SPCA at PO Box 222, Conshohocken, PA 19428.
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