Kathryn J. DuFour (1910-2005)
MSA SC 3520-11468
Biography:
Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, March 19, 1910; raised in Hollywood, California. Attended Hollywood High School, Hollywood, California; American University Washington College of Law, LL.B., 1936. Admitted to D.C. Bar, 1936; Admitted to Maryland Bar, 1942; Admitted to Supreme Court Bar, 1948. Married first husband Lawrence A. Lawlor (d. 1957), 1928; two children were Joan Lawlor Emerson (1938-1993) and Lawrence J. Lawlor (b. 1939). Married second husband Donald G. Shook (d. 1968), 1961. Married third husband Raymond A. DuFour (d. 1990), 1971. Died February 4, 2005, in Gulf Stream, Florida.
Actress, MGM and Fox Studios, 1927.
Attorney, Washington, D.C. Legal Aid Bureau, 1936.
Attorney in private practice, Silver Spring, Montgomery County,
1937-1955.
Professor of Law, Washington College of Law, two years.
Member, secretary-treasurer, Chevy Chase Citizens Committee, 1948.
Member, Montgomery County Council, 1950-52.
President, Republican Federation of Montgomery County.
Trustee, Montgomery County Youth Camp.
Good Government Award, Bethesda Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1952.
Member, Maryland House of Delegates, 1953-54; member, Judiciary
Committee.
First woman in Maryland history to serve as a circuit court judge
(appointed to
Montgomery
County Circuit Court, 6th Judicial Circuit by Governor Theodore
McKeldin,
1955;
elected to 15-year term,
1956).
Distinguished Recognition Award, American University Alumni
Association,
1958.
Elevated to chief judge, Maryland Sixth Judicial Circuit Court, 1967.
Appointed to Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities by Governor
J. Millard Tawes, 1967.
Retired from the Sixth Circuit Court bench, 1971.
Treasurer, Committee on Continuing Legal Education, Montgomery Bar
Association.
Member, Phi Delta legal fraternity.
Member, National conference of State Trial Judges.
Member, Maryland Bar Association.
Member, Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Member, St. Vincent's Catholic Church, Delary Beach, Florida.
Appointed Lady of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of
Jerusalem,
1991.
Appointed Dame of the Sovereign of Malta, 1993.
Emeritus member, Columbus School of Law Board of Visitors, The Catholic
University of America.
Catholic University law library named the "Judge Kathryn J. DuFour
Law Library," 1994.
Recipient of the James Cardinal Gibbons Medal, The Catholic University
of America, 1999.
Inductee, Maryland Women's Hall of Fame, 2003.
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