John Squire Drendel
RENO - August 4, 1923 – February 15, 2024. Nevada lost one of their Greatest Generation and a legendary lawyer when John Squire Drendel passed away at age 100 on February 15, 2024. Born at the hands of a midwife on Nevada Street in Reno, and raised in Centerville, part of the ranching community surrounding Minden, Nevada, “Squire” began life’s journey in hard times. His formal education commenced in a one-room schoolhouse, but his real education started at age 13 as a summer laborer in the hay fields at the Stodieck and Hussman ranches in Carson Valley. It was there, during the depths of the Great Depression, that Squire was instilled with the values of hard work and a respect for those less fortunate. He also learned the skills of hunting, fishing, trapping and a love of the outdoors from his father, John Edward, and older brother Gordon. Squire graduated from Douglas County High School in 1941 where he distinguished himself as Student Body President and a talented debater.
When he was 16, his mother took him to see a movie, The Letter, Somerset Maugham’s story of a colonial wife in Singapore who murders her lover. The courtroom scenes in the movie became his inspiration for what later became a distinguished 50-year career as a trial lawyer. Despite his family’s poverty, he was able to attend the University of Notre Dame with the assistance of Nevada Governor, Edward P. Carville, and loans from some of Minden’s community leaders who saw promise in his intellect and desire for achievement. He never forgot how much his own success depended on their help, a lesson that motivated his lifelong generosity. Two shocks during his first semester as a freshman at Notre Dame impacted forever his life. The first was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The second blow fell when his father died nine days later. On November 26, 1942, Squire began basic training in the Marine Corps. He transferred to the U.S Navy at the suggestion of a superior officer and graduated August 10, 1944, from Columbia University with a second lieutenant’s commission. After training on Mare Island, California, the 22 year-old captain of landing craft transport (LCT) 1378, arrived in the Pacific theater in early 1945. He and his crew of twelve landed troops and equipment on the beaches of Iwo Jima, Saipan and Okinawa during the fiercest battles of the Pacific.
After the war ended in 1945, and with the help of the GI Bill – another helping hand that Squire never forgot – he attended law school at the University of Colorado where he graduated in 1949. During law school Squire met Marilyn Ann Moore, who was a graduate student. They married in August 1948, and after Squire graduated from law school they returned to Reno and raised their four children. Squire worked as a trooper for the Nevada Highway Patrol while preparing for the Nevada Bar exam. After passing the bar, Squire opened a solo private law practice in Reno in 1950. He earned recognition from his peers as one of the most talented trial lawyers in the community handling many high-profile criminal and civil cases.
In 1957, John Squire Drendel and William O. “Bud” Bradley founded the law firm, Bradley and Drendel, Ltd. In 1969, the firm, with the assistance of co-counsel, James Boccardo Esq., obtained the largest jury verdict in the history of the United States when the jury awarded their client 3.6 million dollars. The case led to national exposure when the firm was featured in an article in the December 7, 1970 issue of Time Magazine. Squire was the recipient of numerous awards during his legal career, including a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association and a Fellow in the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers. He was also recognized by Best Lawyers in America for over 30 years in the field of personal injury law. The Reno Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates named the John Squire Drendel Civility Award in his honor acknowledging his reputation for integrity, honesty and civility to his fellow trial lawyers and the judiciary. Squire was also recognized for his commitment and advocacy for civil rights beginning in the 1960s and throughout his career.
In addition to his legal career, Squire was very active in politics, especially in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a delegate from Nevada to the Democratic National Conventions in 1956 and 1960, and was the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 1954.
During his retirement, when he was not traveling the globe, Squire volunteered as an advocate for nursing home patients and veterans and represented countless individuals at no cost in various legal matters. He was fond of saying, “You know the measure of a man who goes out of his way to help people who can do nothing for him in return”, a reflection of his own gratitude to those who had helped him, and of his devotion to helping others as a lawyer and mentor in his community. Squire loved literature and poetry and in his 80s he organized a poetry group that now includes well over 100 members who review and discuss monthly poems submitted by its members. Squire Drendel was a well-traveled man, but he was most at home walking in the Carson Valley or the Sierra mountains, where he had hunted ducks and trapped as a boy, and fly fished with his children. Squire was predeceased by his first wife Marilyn Drendel and his second wife, Jeane Drendel.
Above all else, his greatest joy and pride in life came from the love he shared with his family. He is survived by his four children, Mary Diane Heise (Fritz), John Victor Drendel, Ann Drendel-Haas (Joseph) and Thomas Edward Drendel (Terry) as well as seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The family wishes to express their gratitude to the angels that cared for him in his last few months, especially Bryan Young M.D., Erica Tachiera, Olga Valdez, Varinia Delarosa, Semisi Funaki, Julissa Strong, Trevor Agens, Everett Wells, and members of Right at Home care giving and Infinity Hospice Care. The family will hold a private Mass of Christian Burial at the Carmelite Monastery. A Celebration of Life will be held at Hidden Valley County Club, 3575 E Hidden Valley Dr, Reno, NV 89502 on Friday, March 1, 2024, at 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages friends to make donations to Carmel of Reno, 1950 La Fond Dr., Reno Nevada or Veterans Guest House, 880 Locust Street, Reno, Nevada.