William Leon Schierberl, an international attorney who championed important humanitarian and business ventures around the world, died on June 28, 2015, after a heroic fight with cancer.
Sadly, he was not able to see to completion his most recent and passionate project, the building of a children’s hospital in Ivory Coast, Africa.
Bill was born in Clarion, Pa. in 1928, the youngest son of Alfred and Mary Catherine Murphy Schierberl. During high school, he worked at Owens-Illinois Glass Plant, Asplundh Road Service, and various other jobs to help support his family. He joined his three older brothers at the end of World War II in the U.S. Army, stationed in Japan. (His brother, Bob, was a fighter pilot killed a few months earlier.) After the war, Bill found his way to South Bend, Indiana, where he graduated from Notre Dame University and Law School. He then, boldly, moved to New York City, where he practiced Aviation Law with the firm, Condon and Forsythe for many years, winning notable cases. He moved on to Wilson, Elser, Edelman, and Dicker during the 1980’s, where he scaled the ranks to partner in the firm.
Ever seeking new ways to improve the world and the human condition, Bill eventually set out on his own to pursue challenging projects around the globe, in Japan, Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Iraq, Vietnam, India, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and most recently, Ivory Coast. He had a true talent for bringing people of different backgrounds together for the potential success of turning a dream in to an opportunity in to a plan… a special gift, as his colleagues will attest. Among his many accomplishments, countless young people will best remember Bill as a mentor, guiding them through the mazes and minefields of professional life.
Very dear to his heart was Bill’s involvement at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, with his greatest respect for Dr. James Watson and the historic scientific work done, in-progress, and yet to be conceived there.
Although Bill loved his international endeavors, he had a great passion for New York, and lived at the same treasured apartment on Fifth Avenue for 62 years. He knew every inch of his city, and enjoyed all she had to offer… art, music, history, theater, museums, restaurants, (especially Sardi’s,) as well as obscure, out-of-the-way parks, clubs, and gardens. On Long Island, Bill enjoyed many years of happy times and serenity at the Gold Coast estate which he saved from demolition and then restored in Oyster Bay Cove. He orchestrated the transport and placement of the Paul Manship statue of Theodore Roosevelt to the front of The Nassau County Executive Office Building, Mineola, N.Y.
Bill attended Church of St. Joseph in Greenwich Village, 371 Avenue of the Americas, where a memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 29, at 1:00.
He is preceded in death by his parents and eight brothers and sisters, Robert, Joseph (Mary), Mother Alice, O.S.B., Alfred (Ellen), and Philip (Barbara,) Schierberl, Carolyn Wolf (George), Margaret Pomeroy (Tony), and Luella McLaughlin (William), one nephew, Greg Wolf, and his great-nephew, Mitchell Wolf. He is survived by his sister, Mary O’Toole (Michael), twenty-five nieces and nephews, sisters-in-law, Babs and Mary Schierberl, brother-in-law, Bill McLaughlin, and countless cherished friends.
May the enduring legacy of your kind heart and your wonderful works inspire all of us, Uncle Bill. For your benevolence, courage, tenacity, foresight, and dauntless optimism, you made the world a better place. Be proud, know how much you are loved, and God speed.
Online condolences may be sent to Goble Funeral Home.
