Death Notice: Plain Dealer January 15, 2006
Evelyn P. Kovachy, of Shaker Heights, who died Dec 22, 2005 at age 87, was a pioneer and woman lawyer when women lawyers were rare. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., the second oldest of five children of Elmer and Marion Palenscar, she was a talented concert pianist who studied during her youth at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. But she decided instead to go into the law. First in her class in high school, she was also first in the Preparation for Law Department of the School of Commerce at Temple University, from which she graduated B.S. with distinction in 1940. While a Temple undergraduate, Geneva, Switzerland, she studied under the directorship of the American Committee.
She was also selected Miss Liberty by the City of Philadelphia in 1937 to honor the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Holding high a replica of the Statue of Liberty torch and riding atop a float, she led the celebratory parade. The state of Pennsylvania named her Miss Liberty the next year for their gala celebration of the signing of the Constitution.
The tradition was that the person first in the class in the Preparation for Law Department at Temple automatically won a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She was the first woman to win it, and she was the only woman in her Law school class. She recalled that professors made it very clear that they wished she were not there. "If only Miss Palenscar were not present, I could tell you a wonderful joke". She also remember that the other students, all male, either shared that view or , in several cases, actually proposed marriage to her which she quickly refused with a laugh. One year of that was more than enough and she transferred to Temple Law, where the professors were much more open, much nicer to her, and where there were at least a few women students. She graduated from Temple Law School in 1943.
After law school, she became the first female law school graduate to serve a clerkship at the old line Philadelphia law firm of Duane, Morris and Heckscher. Her preceptor was Roland Shippen Morris, former Ambassador to Russia and Japan. He treated her kindly and well but the law firm was a different matter, with a number of partners and their wives trying to marry her off to their well-heeled but generally ne'er-do-well sons. As such, it was a great relief and joy when Edward Kovachy, an old family friend, courted her and married her. She moved to his home town of Cleveland.
From 1945 for over 50 years, they practiced law together. Their specialty was tax, corporate, and probate work for small, family-run corporations. They represented many of their clients for over forty years. She joined her attorney husband Edward, his attorney brother Judge Julius Kovachy, and his attorney brother Andrew Kovachy, later to be Judge Andrew Kovachy, to form one of the leading and most influential attorney families in Cleveland. During much of her professional life, she was one of the very few, prominent, active, visible, women attorneys in Cleveland. She served as a role model for succeeding generations of women attorneys and for women who chose to have a career outside the home. She was able to balance her career with actively raising her only child, Ed. Jr.
In 1958, she was selected for the first edition of Who's Who of American Women. Who's Who in America at that time was only for men. She was a member of the Cleveland Bar Association and the Women's Lawyers Club of Cleveland, and was President of the Cleveland chapter of Phi Delta Delta Legal Fraternity International.
Her beloved husband of almost 61 years, Edward, died on Sept. 30, 2005. Survivors include her son, Dr. Edward M. Kovachy, Jr. (his wife, Dr. Susan Light), and two grandsons, Tim and Bennie Kovachy, all of Portola Valley, CA., and a brother William Palenscar, of Carlsbad, CA. No Services are planned.
********************
Kovachy, Evelyn P(alenscar) (Mrs. Edward M. Kovachy) lawyer; b. Philadelphia, Aug, 28, 1918; dau. of Elmer A. and Marian (Klauser) Panenscar: B.S. cum laude (scholar 1937-40), Temple Univ., 1940, LL.B., 1943; mar. Edward M., Oct. 28, 1944; 1 son, Edward M. Studied League Nations under directorship of Am. Com. Geneva, Switzerland, 1938; admitted to Ohio bar, 1945; pvt. practice Cleveland, 1945.
Dir. sec.-treas. Hevkay, Inc. U.S. del. to World Congress, Hungary. Named Miss Liberty by City of Phila., 1937, state Pa., 1938.
Member of Cleve. Bar Ass'n, Phi Delta Delta.
Club: The Women Lawyers' (Cleve.).
Home:14500 S. Park Blvd., Shaker Heights 20, Ohio. Office: 414-4900 Euclid Ave. Cleveland 3.
Evelyn P. Kovachy, of Shaker Heights, who died Dec 22, 2005 at age 87, was a pioneer and woman lawyer when women lawyers were rare. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., the second oldest of five children of Elmer and Marion Palenscar, she was a talented concert pianist who studied during her youth at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. But she decided instead to go into the law. First in her class in high school, she was also first in the Preparation for Law Department of the School of Commerce at Temple University, from which she graduated B.S. with distinction in 1940. While a Temple undergraduate, Geneva, Switzerland, she studied under the directorship of the American Committee.
She was also selected Miss Liberty by the City of Philadelphia in 1937 to honor the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Holding high a replica of the Statue of Liberty torch and riding atop a float, she led the celebratory parade. The state of Pennsylvania named her Miss Liberty the next year for their gala celebration of the signing of the Constitution.
The tradition was that the person first in the class in the Preparation for Law Department at Temple automatically won a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She was the first woman to win it, and she was the only woman in her Law school class. She recalled that professors made it very clear that they wished she were not there. "If only Miss Palenscar were not present, I could tell you a wonderful joke". She also remember that the other students, all male, either shared that view or , in several cases, actually proposed marriage to her which she quickly refused with a laugh. One year of that was more than enough and she transferred to Temple Law, where the professors were much more open, much nicer to her, and where there were at least a few women students. She graduated from Temple Law School in 1943.
After law school, she became the first female law school graduate to serve a clerkship at the old line Philadelphia law firm of Duane, Morris and Heckscher. Her preceptor was Roland Shippen Morris, former Ambassador to Russia and Japan. He treated her kindly and well but the law firm was a different matter, with a number of partners and their wives trying to marry her off to their well-heeled but generally ne'er-do-well sons. As such, it was a great relief and joy when Edward Kovachy, an old family friend, courted her and married her. She moved to his home town of Cleveland.
From 1945 for over 50 years, they practiced law together. Their specialty was tax, corporate, and probate work for small, family-run corporations. They represented many of their clients for over forty years. She joined her attorney husband Edward, his attorney brother Judge Julius Kovachy, and his attorney brother Andrew Kovachy, later to be Judge Andrew Kovachy, to form one of the leading and most influential attorney families in Cleveland. During much of her professional life, she was one of the very few, prominent, active, visible, women attorneys in Cleveland. She served as a role model for succeeding generations of women attorneys and for women who chose to have a career outside the home. She was able to balance her career with actively raising her only child, Ed. Jr.
In 1958, she was selected for the first edition of Who's Who of American Women. Who's Who in America at that time was only for men. She was a member of the Cleveland Bar Association and the Women's Lawyers Club of Cleveland, and was President of the Cleveland chapter of Phi Delta Delta Legal Fraternity International.
Her beloved husband of almost 61 years, Edward, died on Sept. 30, 2005. Survivors include her son, Dr. Edward M. Kovachy, Jr. (his wife, Dr. Susan Light), and two grandsons, Tim and Bennie Kovachy, all of Portola Valley, CA., and a brother William Palenscar, of Carlsbad, CA. No Services are planned.
********************
Kovachy, Evelyn P(alenscar) (Mrs. Edward M. Kovachy) lawyer; b. Philadelphia, Aug, 28, 1918; dau. of Elmer A. and Marian (Klauser) Panenscar: B.S. cum laude (scholar 1937-40), Temple Univ., 1940, LL.B., 1943; mar. Edward M., Oct. 28, 1944; 1 son, Edward M. Studied League Nations under directorship of Am. Com. Geneva, Switzerland, 1938; admitted to Ohio bar, 1945; pvt. practice Cleveland, 1945.
Dir. sec.-treas. Hevkay, Inc. U.S. del. to World Congress, Hungary. Named Miss Liberty by City of Phila., 1937, state Pa., 1938.
Member of Cleve. Bar Ass'n, Phi Delta Delta.
Club: The Women Lawyers' (Cleve.).
Home:14500 S. Park Blvd., Shaker Heights 20, Ohio. Office: 414-4900 Euclid Ave. Cleveland 3.
Death Notice: Plain Dealer January 15, 2006
Evelyn P. Kovachy, of Shaker Heights, who died Dec 22, 2005 at age 87, was a pioneer and woman lawyer when women lawyers were rare. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., the second oldest of five children of Elmer and Marion Palenscar, she was a talented concert pianist who studied during her youth at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. But she decided instead to go into the law. First in her class in high school, she was also first in the Preparation for Law Department of the School of Commerce at Temple University, from which she graduated B.S. with distinction in 1940. While a Temple undergraduate, Geneva, Switzerland, she studied under the directorship of the American Committee.
She was also selected Miss Liberty by the City of Philadelphia in 1937 to honor the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Holding high a replica of the Statue of Liberty torch and riding atop a float, she led the celebratory parade. The state of Pennsylvania named her Miss Liberty the next year for their gala celebration of the signing of the Constitution.
The tradition was that the person first in the class in the Preparation for Law Department at Temple automatically won a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She was the first woman to win it, and she was the only woman in her Law school class. She recalled that professors made it very clear that they wished she were not there. "If only Miss Palenscar were not present, I could tell you a wonderful joke". She also remember that the other students, all male, either shared that view or , in several cases, actually proposed marriage to her which she quickly refused with a laugh. One year of that was more than enough and she transferred to Temple Law, where the professors were much more open, much nicer to her, and where there were at least a few women students. She graduated from Temple Law School in 1943.
After law school, she became the first female law school graduate to serve a clerkship at the old line Philadelphia law firm of Duane, Morris and Heckscher. Her preceptor was Roland Shippen Morris, former Ambassador to Russia and Japan. He treated her kindly and well but the law firm was a different matter, with a number of partners and their wives trying to marry her off to their well-heeled but generally ne'er-do-well sons. As such, it was a great relief and joy when Edward Kovachy, an old family friend, courted her and married her. She moved to his home town of Cleveland.
From 1945 for over 50 years, they practiced law together. Their specialty was tax, corporate, and probate work for small, family-run corporations. They represented many of their clients for over forty years. She joined her attorney husband Edward, his attorney brother Judge Julius Kovachy, and his attorney brother Andrew Kovachy, later to be Judge Andrew Kovachy, to form one of the leading and most influential attorney families in Cleveland. During much of her professional life, she was one of the very few, prominent, active, visible, women attorneys in Cleveland. She served as a role model for succeeding generations of women attorneys and for women who chose to have a career outside the home. She was able to balance her career with actively raising her only child, Ed. Jr.
In 1958, she was selected for the first edition of Who's Who of American Women. Who's Who in America at that time was only for men. She was a member of the Cleveland Bar Association and the Women's Lawyers Club of Cleveland, and was President of the Cleveland chapter of Phi Delta Delta Legal Fraternity International.
Her beloved husband of almost 61 years, Edward, died on Sept. 30, 2005. Survivors include her son, Dr. Edward M. Kovachy, Jr. (his wife, Dr. Susan Light), and two grandsons, Tim and Bennie Kovachy, all of Portola Valley, CA., and a brother William Palenscar, of Carlsbad, CA. No Services are planned.
********************
Kovachy, Evelyn P(alenscar) (Mrs. Edward M. Kovachy) lawyer; b. Philadelphia, Aug, 28, 1918; dau. of Elmer A. and Marian (Klauser) Panenscar: B.S. cum laude (scholar 1937-40), Temple Univ., 1940, LL.B., 1943; mar. Edward M., Oct. 28, 1944; 1 son, Edward M. Studied League Nations under directorship of Am. Com. Geneva, Switzerland, 1938; admitted to Ohio bar, 1945; pvt. practice Cleveland, 1945.
Dir. sec.-treas. Hevkay, Inc. U.S. del. to World Congress, Hungary. Named Miss Liberty by City of Phila., 1937, state Pa., 1938.
Member of Cleve. Bar Ass'n, Phi Delta Delta.
Club: The Women Lawyers' (Cleve.).
Home:14500 S. Park Blvd., Shaker Heights 20, Ohio. Office: 414-4900 Euclid Ave. Cleveland 3.
Evelyn P. Kovachy, of Shaker Heights, who died Dec 22, 2005 at age 87, was a pioneer and woman lawyer when women lawyers were rare. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., the second oldest of five children of Elmer and Marion Palenscar, she was a talented concert pianist who studied during her youth at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. But she decided instead to go into the law. First in her class in high school, she was also first in the Preparation for Law Department of the School of Commerce at Temple University, from which she graduated B.S. with distinction in 1940. While a Temple undergraduate, Geneva, Switzerland, she studied under the directorship of the American Committee.
She was also selected Miss Liberty by the City of Philadelphia in 1937 to honor the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Holding high a replica of the Statue of Liberty torch and riding atop a float, she led the celebratory parade. The state of Pennsylvania named her Miss Liberty the next year for their gala celebration of the signing of the Constitution.
The tradition was that the person first in the class in the Preparation for Law Department at Temple automatically won a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She was the first woman to win it, and she was the only woman in her Law school class. She recalled that professors made it very clear that they wished she were not there. "If only Miss Palenscar were not present, I could tell you a wonderful joke". She also remember that the other students, all male, either shared that view or , in several cases, actually proposed marriage to her which she quickly refused with a laugh. One year of that was more than enough and she transferred to Temple Law, where the professors were much more open, much nicer to her, and where there were at least a few women students. She graduated from Temple Law School in 1943.
After law school, she became the first female law school graduate to serve a clerkship at the old line Philadelphia law firm of Duane, Morris and Heckscher. Her preceptor was Roland Shippen Morris, former Ambassador to Russia and Japan. He treated her kindly and well but the law firm was a different matter, with a number of partners and their wives trying to marry her off to their well-heeled but generally ne'er-do-well sons. As such, it was a great relief and joy when Edward Kovachy, an old family friend, courted her and married her. She moved to his home town of Cleveland.
From 1945 for over 50 years, they practiced law together. Their specialty was tax, corporate, and probate work for small, family-run corporations. They represented many of their clients for over forty years. She joined her attorney husband Edward, his attorney brother Judge Julius Kovachy, and his attorney brother Andrew Kovachy, later to be Judge Andrew Kovachy, to form one of the leading and most influential attorney families in Cleveland. During much of her professional life, she was one of the very few, prominent, active, visible, women attorneys in Cleveland. She served as a role model for succeeding generations of women attorneys and for women who chose to have a career outside the home. She was able to balance her career with actively raising her only child, Ed. Jr.
In 1958, she was selected for the first edition of Who's Who of American Women. Who's Who in America at that time was only for men. She was a member of the Cleveland Bar Association and the Women's Lawyers Club of Cleveland, and was President of the Cleveland chapter of Phi Delta Delta Legal Fraternity International.
Her beloved husband of almost 61 years, Edward, died on Sept. 30, 2005. Survivors include her son, Dr. Edward M. Kovachy, Jr. (his wife, Dr. Susan Light), and two grandsons, Tim and Bennie Kovachy, all of Portola Valley, CA., and a brother William Palenscar, of Carlsbad, CA. No Services are planned.
********************
Kovachy, Evelyn P(alenscar) (Mrs. Edward M. Kovachy) lawyer; b. Philadelphia, Aug, 28, 1918; dau. of Elmer A. and Marian (Klauser) Panenscar: B.S. cum laude (scholar 1937-40), Temple Univ., 1940, LL.B., 1943; mar. Edward M., Oct. 28, 1944; 1 son, Edward M. Studied League Nations under directorship of Am. Com. Geneva, Switzerland, 1938; admitted to Ohio bar, 1945; pvt. practice Cleveland, 1945.
Dir. sec.-treas. Hevkay, Inc. U.S. del. to World Congress, Hungary. Named Miss Liberty by City of Phila., 1937, state Pa., 1938.
Member of Cleve. Bar Ass'n, Phi Delta Delta.
Club: The Women Lawyers' (Cleve.).
Home:14500 S. Park Blvd., Shaker Heights 20, Ohio. Office: 414-4900 Euclid Ave. Cleveland 3.
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