Harry Jackaway:
Was Senior Judge
Harry N. Jackaway of West Hartford, a superior
Court judge for more than 15 years and a trial lawyer in New
Britain [CT] for a quarter-century who valued fairness and a sense
of humor, died Saturday. He was 75.
Nominated by Gov. William A. O'Neil, Jackaway joined the Superior
Court bench in 1984. He became a senior judge after reaching
the mandatory retirement age for Superior Court judges, 72.
Presiding over a 1992 case involving a Hartford woman killed in a
fire at the Hartford Region YWCA, Jackaway threw out a jury award of
$40,000. believing iyt too low. Sating the award "shocks the
conscience of the court," he raised the amount to $240,000.
Jackaway sat through his share of tragic and di8fficyult cases in
his years on the bench, and as a result appreciated the opportunity
for a lighter moment. During the sentencing of a man in
Hartford Superior Court for an assault with a golf club, the
defendant pleaded for the return of his 9-iron.
Jackaway sided with the prosecutor who object strenuously against
the return of the club, but |
offered some advice to the defendant: "Choke down a
little on your 8-iron and open the face a little, and you'll chip
just as well."
Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was an attorney in Berlin
[CT] for 25 years before becoming a partner in Eisenberg, Anderson
and Jackaway in New Britain. He was also corporation counsel
for the town of Berlin for a number of years. A U.S.
Army veteran of Word War II, he was a 19-yer-old recruit when he and
fellow paratroopers were sent into action during the Battle of the
Bulge in winter 1944. He took great comfort in the fact that
his commanding officer was "right there alongside us on this bitter
day." Years later, he found the address of the division's
commanding officer, Maj. Gen. James Gavin, and wrote to remind
him of that day and what his leadership had meant. Gavin wrote
back.
After The Courant ran a story in 1994, 50 years after that
memorable battle in Europe, on the action and its veterans, Jackaway
thanked Gavin again in a letter to9 the editor for his kindness and
bravery.
Born in New Britain, he retired as a major in the U.S. Army
Reserve.[Hartford Courant, Hartford, CT,
Tue, Jan 2, 1979. Page 66] |
Draft record for Harry N. Jackaway ca 1943 in
Connecticut.
Harry enlisted in the Army at Hartford, CT on 18 August 1943.
The records indicate the had completed one year of college.
That educational level may have been what propelled
him into OCS.
On 2 November, 1st Lt.
Jackaway was transferred from 82nd Airborne Division Hq to Hq 1st,
508th PIR. |