In Memoriam
Paul R. Lamoree
Obituary
Kansas City Star
June 6, 2009
Paul R. Lamoree, attorney, beloved father, dear husband, and true lover of life, died on Wednesday evening, June 3, at Olathe Medical Center. Paul was 67 years old.
Paul Rooney Lamoree was born in 1942, the son of Floyd Lamoree, a musician, and of Dorothy Cromer, a pioneering female journalist and Kansas City publicist. An exceptional child, by the time Paul graduated from Center High School in Kansas City, he was a commander in Kansas City's ROTC program, he had established his perennial presence at city-wide science fairs, and he looked forward to applying to West Point.
A nearly fatal head injury suffered as a young teen prevented him from pursuing West Point, but Paul accepted a full-scholarship to Yale University. An interest in physics was later replaced by a political science major, after which he accepted another full scholarship to Yale Law.
Upon his return to Kansas City, Paul had just begun to establish himself at Watson, Ess, Marshall and Engass when the United States Army came calling. Paul, a promising young lawyer with a degree from an Ivy league college, was drafted into the Army. Private Lamoree served as an assistant to the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps in Okinawa. While there he attained the rank of sergeant, and he was instrumental in the drafting and ratification of treaties that returned control of that island to the Japanese government.
Returning again to Kansas City, Paul continued at Watson, Ess, Marshall and Engass. He specialized in intellectual property and antitrust matters and represented large corporations, small businesses, and individuals. Lamoree represented his clients in venues as high as the Supreme Court and become a respected expert in computer law.
After leaving Watson, Ess, Marshall and Engass, Paul worked for several years in general practice at the law firm of Gallas and Shultz. He gave up that practice to work with a small start up communications company with an idea for a wireless personal communications system. Lamoree was instrumental in the formation and development of Sprint PCS and helped the company expand from a small group to a nationwide corporation with the third largest customer base in the U.S.
After Sprint's reorganization and national layoffs, Paul was an associate professor at National American University, teaching business law to paralegal students.
Paul had started studying Chung Do Kwon Tae Kwon Do in 1985. The conservative style and traditional culture of Chung Do Kwon became a lifelong passion, and Paul eventually earned the rank of 2nd Dan Black Belt. He also became an instructor in Tae Kwon Do and loved teaching the art as much as he loved practicing it.
Automobile engineering and design were another area of intense interest, as was Formula 1 racing and, as an amateur Sports Car Club of America racer, Paul and his Lotuses collected several shelves worth of first-place SOLO II trophies in regional events.
Lamoree was a lifelong and very conversant lover of knowledge and a hater of injustice. Until the end of his time here with us, he read widely and deeply in subjects as light as spy novels and as deep as physics, theology, and evolutionary psychology. After decades as a corporate attorney with a view into the internecine relationships between business and law, he still believed in the power of the legal system to right injustice and could be moved to tears by the courtroom verdict scene in the movie version of Harper Lee's American classic To Kill a Mockingbird.
Paul showed nobility of spirit in the face of adversity that, like the rest of his life, will stand as an inspiration to all who knew him. Paul was a considerate and caring friend to his spouse, Patrice C. Lamoree, of Olathe, and a loving father to his son Mark Lamoree, of Liberty, Missouri. In January of this year, he became a grandfather to a little lady who will carry his wonder at life and his spirit of curiosity and adventure to future generations.
There will be a private family service at Penwell Gabel Funeral Home, Olathe, followed by a public memorial gathering at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 5401 Oak Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 9. Flowers are appropriate for the public gathering or memorial donations may be sent to the Heifer Project International, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, AR/USA 72202, Tel.: (800) 422-0474, www.heifer.org, or to the Institute for Justice, 901 N. Glebe Road, Suite 900, Arlington, VA 22203, Tel.: (703) 682- 9320, fax (703) 682-9321, www.ij.org. To leave a message for the family, please visit www.penwellgabel.com.