Bangor native Ralph I. Lancaster Jr., whose nearly 60-year practice of law included a stint as a special prosecutor during President Bill Clinton’s administration and appearances in courtrooms around the country and abroad, died Tuesday at the age of 88.
Lancaster, who died at his Falmouth home, wrote his own obituary “without a list of major professional accomplishments in order to emphasize that material matters pale into insignificance when compared to the love of family and friends.”
He was born in Bangor on May 9, 1930, the first child of Mary Katherine (Kelleher) and Ralph Ivan Lancaster. He was raised by his great aunt and great uncle, Bridget (Kelleher) and Charles Milan, after his mother died giving birth to his stillborn brother when Lancaster was 3 years old.
Lancaster graduated from what is now John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor before graduating from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. Army for two years before becoming the first judicial clerk for U.S. District Judge Edward T. Gignoux, for whom the federal courthouse in Portland is named.
Lancaster went to work at Pierce Atwood, a Portland law firm, in 1959. He worked until last June, when his health began to decline.
Over the years, he was appointed a special master four times by the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently in 2014 on a case in which Florida sued Georgia over water rights. In the 1980s, he represented the U.S. at the World Court in a territorial dispute with Canada over 30,000 square nautical miles in the Georges Bank. In a settlement, the U.S. was awarded about two-thirds of the Gulf of Maine and Canada received the rest.
He spent two years in the late 1990s as special counsel investigating allegations of corruption involving Alexis M. Herman, Clinton’s secretary of labor. Lancaster concluded that he would not seek an indictment against Herman.
David Barry, now the managing partner at the Pierce Atwood, said Friday that Lancaster cultivated an expectation of excellence at the firm. Lancaster also mentored many young attorneys, including Barry and U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Kayatta.
“He created a culture and expectation of excellence, and we all will work to continue to live up to,” Barry said. “He was unrelenting in his expectation that his example be followed.”
Besides having a reputation as a legal giant, Lancaster was known for wearing bowties long after they went out of fashion.
“But we also knew him as fair, ethical, kind, and possessed of a mischievous and playful sense of humor that brightened so many of our days,” Barry said.
The managing partner said that he was a member of Lancaster’s team that worked on the Herman investigation. Barry said he learned a lot about managing from Lancaster during that time.
“There was never any question about who was in charge of the office, but he brought together a group of people that included attorneys, federal prosecutors and FBI agents,” Barry said. “He understood that in that environment, he knew he had to let people do their work and bring expertise without being micromanaged by him.”
Kayatta said that Lancaster led by example by working hard and always showing respect for others.
“Learning how to be a good lawyer puts you part way on the path to being a good judge,” he said Friday when asked how Lancaster had influenced his work on the appellate court.
Former Gov. John Baldacci’s father, Robert E. Baldacci Sr., grew up with Lancaster and the Kelleher clan.
“He was always Mister Lancaster to us and a gentleman at all times,” said Baldacci, who now works for Pierce Atwood. “He was very proud about being from Bangor.”
During his first term as governor, Baldacci asked Lancaster to head up an investigation into allegations of the use restraint and isolation practices in previous years at the Long Creek and Mountain View youth development centers. Lancaster’s report found that the use of those practices had decreased under new management at the South Portland and Charleston facilities.
Baldacci said Thursday that Lancaster’s report led to a reduction in juvenile incarceration and more access to care and mentoring in the community.
Lancaster asked in his obituary that people not send flowers or make contributions in his memory. Instead, he suggested that mourners “take someone(s) you love out to dinner.”
“Use the word ‘love’ frequently, laugh a lot and enjoy the moment. I did,” Lancaster said.
He is survived by his wife, three daughters, three sons, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Visiting hours will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at the Conroy-Tully-Walker Funeral Home in Portland. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at Portland’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.