Richmond, Michael L.

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Nova Law ReviewVolume 28, Issue 2 2004 Article 10In Memory of Larry Kalevitch: AnAppreciationMichael L. Richmond∗∗Copyright c©2004 by the authors. Nova Law Review is produced by The Berkeley ElectronicPress (bepress). http://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlrIN MEMORY OF LARRY KALEVITCH:AN APPRECIATIONMICHAEL L. RICHMOND*Dog hiding in bushes behind you.He knows you're here. Ring bell.Act as if nothing is wrong.'When you visited Larry Kalevitch, he did not merely welcome you.From the minute you reached the front door, he wanted you to smile and feelat home. Hence the text of his doormat. The doormat also bore a cartoon ofa spotted pooch crouching surreptitiously behind a bush barely large enoughto conceal its body. You smiled even more if you knew his dogs: first Bear,a huge happy Golden Retriever; then Paris, an even bigger Bouvier de Flan-dres, who firmly believed himself to be a lap dog. Both of them loved hav-ing visitors, and considered it their duty to make you know how much theyenjoyed the time you spent with them-just like Larry.He loved the Red Sox and he loved his son Benjamin-not in that order,but pretty dam close. He wanted to see them both succeed. He never did gethis wish with the Sox,2 but he certainly did with Benjamin. Larry's son in-herited his father's lively intellect, and continues on a highly successful pathin the business world. Larry also loved beauty in all of its forms. His tastesin music ranged from Bob Dylan to Giuseppe Verdi, and music played al-most constantly in his home-at least, when sports were not on the televi-sion. He wired the entire house for sound, so that music from his stereowould permeate every comer. He had equally eclectic taste in art and read-ing material. Larry enjoyed good thrillers and science fiction every bit as* Professor of Law, Shepard Broad Law Center, Nova Southeastern University. A.B.,Hamilton College; J.D., Duke University; M.S.L.S., University of North Carolina at ChapelHill.1. Text of doormat in front of Larry Kalevitch's home. Source unknown. (Sorry, LawReview people, but it's the best cite I can give you).2. As I write this, the 2003 baseball season nears its end. The Red Sox trail the Yankeesby 5 '/2 games in the American League East, but are 2 2 games ahead of Seattle for the wildcard berth into the playoffs. SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL, Sep. 17, 2003, at 4C. (I feelcompelled to give my source for this information, not so much in respect for Larry's prodi-gious scholarly talents, but because if I don't the Law Review people will make me go backand add it later). Maybe the Red Sox will succeed this season. Larry would have enjoyed thatfar more than all of the articles in this issue.1Richmond: In Memory of Larry Kalevitch: An AppreciationPublished by NSUWorks, 2004NOVA LA WREVIEWmuch as The Death of Contract.3 Still, his academic pursuits best displayedthe breadth of his interests. He studied and wrote about the statutory-drivenworld of bankruptcy, but his articles also dealt with the jurisprudential un-derpinnings of contract law. Others in this tribute will write more exten-sively about his outstanding scholarship.Larry took his scholarship and his teaching very seriously. His studentsemerged from his classroom "bloodied, but unbowed." 4 Unflinchingly de-manding, Larry insisted on extracting the best from his students, but he didso while allowing them to retain their dignity. He had little patience for theunprepared student, but for those who gave an honest effort, Larry had all thetime in the world. Even in the last months of his life, confined to a wheel-chair by the disease which took away the use of one side of his body, Larryinsisted on holding class at his home. The law school staff transported tablesand chairs to Larry's house, and there in his living room Larry would meetwith (and draw remarkable strength from) his students. Although Larry toldhis friends that he had achieved his goals in life and could peacefully accepthis demise, in mid-November of 2002 he sadly said, "I think I've taught mylast class." He loved the classroom, and hated the realization that he wouldno longer have the opportunity to teach students how to think.While Larry treated his life as a teacher with consummate professional-ism, he refused to take himself as seriously. Larry accompanied his seem-ingly earth-shaking pronouncements with a sly grin, a raised eyebrow, and atongue that just barely sneaked out to lick his upper lip. His peccadilloesreceived the same treatment, as did his poking fun of you. Larry puncturedpomposity, but did so in such good humor that you could not resent it.I played racquetball with Larry, but never tennis. At least with racquet-ball I could score an occasional point. Larry sought out and competedfiercely with some of the best tennis players in town-and in South Floridathat meant some of the best tennis players available, including one womanwho had ranked first among all juniors in the United States.5 I did not stayoff the tennis court because Larry refused to play someone whose skills fellfar beneath his own-I think he would happily have "dumbed down" hisgame to help me learn to improve mine. Rather, I believe he knew I wantedto compete and suggested racquetball as a viable alternative.3. Grant Gilmore, THE DEATH OF CONTRACT (1974). One of Larry's last pieces of re-search revisited Gilmore's theory of contract law.4. Cf William Ernest Henley, "Invictus" (1888) ("My head is bloody, but unbowed."Stanza 2).5. 1 withhold her name out of a keen instinct for self-preservation. Law Review editors,please trust me on this one.[Vol. 28:2:3052Nova Law Review, Vol. 28, Iss. 2 [2004], Art. 10http://nsuworks.nova.edu/nlr/vol28/iss2/102004] IN MEMORY OF LARRYKALEVITCH." AN APPRECIATION 307Larry's friendships rarely focused on him-for Larry, it "was about"you. From his home to his classroom, from athletics to his office, Larrycared about the other guy. Our faculty meetings will miss his gentle remind-ers that some issues just did not matter as much as we thought. Larry'sRabbi said to me: "Every time I drive down Old Hiatus Road and pass hisintersection, I look down to his house. It does not seem right that someoneelse is living there." It does not seem right that our students no longer havehis wisdom, and that we no longer have his guidance.3Richmond: In Memory of Larry Kalevitch: An AppreciationPublished by NSUWorks, 2004

In Memory of Larry Kalevitch: An Appreciation

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In Memory of Larry Kalevitch: An Appreciation

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