In Memoriam Ernie Bonyhadi, Retired Stoel Rives Partner (1924-2016)

Stoel Rives LLP, a leading U.S. corporate and litigation law firm, regrets to announce that retired partner Ernie Bonyhadi has passed away at the age of 92 years.

Bonyhadi was a name partner with Rives, Bonyhadi & Smith when it merged in 1979 with Davies, Biggs, Strayer, Stoel & Boley to create the firm that today operates as Stoel Rives LLP. It was then and continues to be Oregon’s largest law firm.

Bonyhadi came to Portland from Austria with his family just after the outbreak of World War II. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1941 and began attending Reed College in 1942. He left Reed left in 1943 to serve in the U.S. Army, returning to graduate after the war. He then earned his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1952.

Bonyhadi had a long and distinguished career as a litigator and community leader. After the 1979 merger, Bonyhadi continued to practice law with Stoel Rives for seventeen years until his retirement in 1996. He also served for many years on the Reed College Board of Trustees and was an emeritus trustee at the time of his death.

“Ernie was a wonderful colleague and an exemplary human being,” said Wally Van Valkenburg, Portland office managing partner. “He loved meeting and mentoring younger lawyers and connecting people both in and outside the firm. We will remember him for many things, but especially his vitality, sense of humor, and love of people. We send our condolences to Ernie’s friends and family. All of us who knew him here will miss him greatly.”