Kurt W. Melchior

October 30, 1924 - November 5, 2022

Kurt Melchior, a prominent San Francisco attorney, passed away peacefully in his home on November 5, 2022. Kurt was born in Essen, Germany before fleeing the Nazis for the United States in 1938. Kurt received his BA & MA degrees from the University of Chicago and his LL.B. from Yale Law School.

Kurt worked for the Justice Dept in Washington DC and met Suzanne Ellen Sabin. They moved to San Francisco and were married in 1959.

Kurt practiced law for over 60 years, most recently at Nossaman as General Counsel. Earlier, he was a partner at Severson & Werson. He served as counsel of record in over 70 published cases. He was inducted into the California Bar Association’s Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame in 2004 and received a lifetime achievement award.

For 40 years, Kurt served as President of the San Francisco Law Library where he led its digital transformation and diversified the Board. He was Vice President of the State Bar of California; a Member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar; and a Senior Delegate to the State Bar of California for the ABA. He served as President of the board of the San Francisco French-American Bilingual School (now FAIS), the Oakes Children’s Center and the San Francisco Association for Mental Health. Kurt was a proud San Franciscan: he was a season ticket holder for the 49ers since 1970, a patron of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera.

Kurt is survived by his wife Sue, his brother Frank, his children Karen Melchior of Mountain View, CA, and Katherine Melchior Ray of Portland, OR, and four grandchildren, Sabin, Hunter, Audrey, and George. Donations in honor of Kurt may be sent to the San Francisco Law Library, 1145 Market St, SF, CA 94103. A memorial for Kurt will take place at Nossaman’s SF Office on December 2.