Remembering the life, laughs of a legal lion
More than 800 gather for funeral of criminal lawyer Edward Greenspan
Since his sudden death last week, Edward Greenspan has been remembered for his forceful advocacy, his devotion to the justice system and for a legacy of inspiring past and future generations of criminal lawyers.
On Sunday, those closest to Greenspan eulogized the legal giant with a mix of heartfelt and humorous anecdotes at a funeral packed with 800 mourners that included many judges, Crown attorneys, defence colleagues and clients.
Greenspan died of heart failure in his sleep Christmas Eve hours after family members ate dinner together at their vacation home in Phoenix, Ariz. He was 70.
Along with a who’s who of the legal profession, prominent Torontonians in attendance included filmmaker David Cronenberg, former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman, Blue Jays’ president and CEO Paul Beeston, and longtime friend and co-author George Jonas.
“He gave me an order: ‘When I die you must be funny, very funny, no sentimental bull---t.’ ” JULIANNA GREENSPAN ON HER FATHER’S REQUIREMENTS FOR HIS EULOGY
Also in attendance was former theatre mogul Garth Drabinsky, whom Greenspan defended on fraud and forgery charges.
“My brother Eddie ascended, eventually transcended the very peak of the legal profession. A fiercely talented young advocate, he rose to become a model for all of us who wanted to be lawyers in the first place,” said his younger brother, Brian Greenspan, also a celebrated criminal lawyer.
While Greenspan’s passion for justice was the public side of his personality, it represented only one aspect of his life, his brother told the congregation at Beth Torah Synagogue.
“Despite his apparent comfort and ease with the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd, he was intensely private, in some ways almost shy.” He shared stories of the brothers growing up in Niagara Falls, Ont., with their sister, Rosann, today the executive director of the Center for the Study of Law and Society at UC Berkeley in California.
“Eddie” loved literature, film, food and travel. His home and office libraries were like religious retreats, “temples in which he thoughtfully and meticulously housed his life’s learning ideas,” said Brian, who is three years younger.
But his older brother was also renowned for his sense of humor. He had “impeccable timing,” a “deadpan delivery” and a “contagious sense of mischief.” While contemporaries listened to Motown, Eddie was “addicted” to — and memorized — albums by ’60s comedians Shelley Berman, Lenny Bruce, Jackie Gleason, Bob Newhart and the Smothers Brothers.
And just as he loved mentoring younger lawyers, Eddie was a generous sibling who encouraged Rosann to seek an Ivy League scholarship. She graduated from Yale in the first women’s class.
“He embodied our mother’s values,” Brian said. “He was unfailingly and genuinely courteous and respectful to everyone he met.”
Julianna Greenspan, a lawyer and partner in her father’s firm, delivered a humour-laced eulogy — and assured mourners that she was doing so in compliance with her father’s instructions.
“It made him crazy that he couldn’t give his own eulogy,” Julianna said. “He gave me an order: ‘When I die you must be funny, very funny, no sentimental bull---t,’ ” she said, adding, “Sorry rabbi,” to Yossi Sapirman who was standing nearby.
She poked fun at her dad’s competitive side, his tendency to be a “technological moron” and his love of food. The synagogue was perfectly situated close to a Dairy Queen, a favourite, she noted, adding that a highlight of a scenic Alaskan cruise was the homemade pies baked in a tiny airport cafeteria.
Julianna also joked about her father’s decades-long prominence in the press, “partly because he was al- ways available,” and possessed an “enormous head” that looked “fantastic” on television.
“If my father knew the outpouring of press coverage would have been so enormous, he would have faked his death years ago.”
Her composure cracked several times, especially when paying tribute to her mother, Suzy, who was sitting in the front row with other family members behind the casket. The couple had been married for 48 years.
“She made his life wonderful. She made his life worth living. She was the silent partner in his law practice and in his life,” said Julianna, mother of Greenspan’s three granddaughters.
Her father continued to do challenging cases and put in long hours. “Before he got weary, before he got tired, he died while he still was the eternal workaholic,” she said.
Last month, the pair spent a week at a hearing in St. John’s, Nfld.
The timing of his death was a fitting, albeit too-soon, end to a great life, she said.
“For a guy who hated for anyone to miss work, dying during the biggest holiday of the year, when the courts are closed, could not have been more perfect.”
Greenspan’s other daughter, Samantha, recited Leonard Cohen lyrics, while clutching Rabbi Sapirman’s hand. Sapirman said while some might be wondering “when did Eddie suddenly become a Shul goer,” — the Jewish word for synagogue — the lawyer was committed “in so many deep ways to Jewish values.”
Bernie Gosevitz, Greenspan’s doctor and friend of 35 years, recalled the first time he met the lawyer in his medical office. He “took over my seat at my desk, put his feet up on my desk, picked up the phone and lit a cigar,” Gosevitz said to laughter.
Gosevitz said while he’ll miss his friend’s one-liners, “his life was and will continue to be an inspiration to all of us here and to generations of lawyers that will follow.”