Eastern District to hold memorial service for Judge Carl Gaertner

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Content date: 11/07/2011

Eastern District to hold memorial service for Judge Carl Gaertner

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, will convene a special session of the Court en Banc in memory of the late Hon. Carl R. Gaertner at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, at the Old Post Office, 815 Olive St., St. Louis. Judge Gaertner passed away March 3, 2011. Judge Gaertner served as Judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, from 1980 until his retirement in 1995.

U.S. District Court and former Supreme Court of Missouri Judge Stephen Limbaugh Jr.; former Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Judge Stanley Grimm; and former St. Louis Circuit Judge Brenda Ryan are among the invited speakers. Attorney James Virtel of Armstrong Teasdale also will speak at the memorial service.

As a member of “the greatest generation,” Judge Gaertner served his country as an aviator in the U.S. Navy in active service during World War II. He earned his law degree in 1948 from Saint Louis University School of Law. He engaged in the private practice of law in St. Louis until 1972, when he was appointed as a circuit judge of the St. Louis circuit court. He was elected assistant chief judge in 1974 and chief judge in 1978. He became presiding judge in 1979. Effective in 1980, Gov. Christopher "Kit" Bond appointed Judge Gaertner as a judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals. After serving 15 years on the appellate bench, he returned to private practice and worked at the St. Louis law firm Armstrong Teasdale, specializing in mediation.

His wife of 53 years, Mary Jane Gaertner, died in 2001. Judge Gaertner is survived by five children, 13 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Contact: Laura Roy, clerk
Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District
((314) 539-4300