4A Friday, June 4, 2021 OBITUARIES The Daily Nonpareil

Celia M. O’Neal Celia M. O’Neal, age 66 of Des Moines, passed away on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at her home. Celia was born on Janu- ary 15, 1955 in Council Bluffs to the late Adolf and Mary (Anderson) Wil- lers. Celia was preceded in death by her husband, James Walker in 2007; parents, Adolf and Mary; stepfather, Norman An- derson. Celia is survived by 3 sons, Philip and Michelene Willers of Des Moines; Shawnn and Amy O’Neal of Des Moines; Shanenn O’Neal of Coun- cil Bluffs; 3daughters, Shanonn and Steve O’Neal-Dewitt of Spring- field, NE.; Cristy O’Neal of Council Bluffs; Jennifer Racheal O’Neal of Council Bluffs; 18 grandchildren; 15 great grandchildren; 2 sisters, Theresa Betchel and Bonnie Bruce both of Council Bluffs. Visitation with family on Sunday from 2to 4p.m., at Cutler-O’Neill- Meyer-Woodring Funeral Home. Funeral Service on Monday at 11 a.m., at the Funeral Home. in Garner Township Ceme- tery. Family will direct memorials.

AP file photo/Reed Saxon In this Friday, June 30, 1995, file photo, O.J. Simpson and defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, left, consult with each other during the Simpson double-murder trial in . At right is Simpson defense attorney Carl Douglas. Bailey, the celebrity attorney who defended O.J. Simpson, Patricia Hearst and the alleged Strangler, but whose legal career halted when he was dis- barred in two states, has died, a former colleague confirmed Thursday. He was 87. Jeffery Alan Celebrity attorney F. Lee Bailey dead at 87 Schmitt Jeffery Alan Schmitt passed away suddenly on MARK PRATT May 30 2021. Jeff was born to Wayne RSchmitt and Donna R WALTHAM, Mass. — F. Lee Bailey, the (Norman) Schmitt on celebrity attorney who defended O.J. Simp- April 24, 1965. son, Patricia Hearst and the alleged Boston He was proceeded in Strangler, but whose legal career halted death by his father and when he was disbarred in two states, has brothers Daniel, Kelly, died, a former colleague said Thursday. He Kevin And Dwayne. He leaves behind his was 87. mother Donna, sister Bailey died at a hospital in the Atlanta Stephanie RPierce, Jayne area, according to Kenneth Fishman, Bai- MSchmitt and brothers ley’s former law partner who went on to David (Lynette) Schmitt become a Superior Court judge in Massa- and Randy (Kathy) chusetts. Schmitt. As well as Fishman did not disclose the cause of numerous nieces and death but said Bailey had moved to Geor- nephews. gia about a year ago to be closer to one of Acelebration of life will be held on Sunday, June his sons and had been dealing with several 13 starting at 11 a.m., at medical issues for the past few months. Big Lake Park. The “In many respects, he was the model of family asks that you bring what a criminal defense attorney should be aside and your own in terms of preparation and investigation,” drinks. said Fishman, whose legal association and friendship with Bailey dates to 1975. Peggy L. In a career that lasted more than four decades, Bailey was seen as arrogant, ego- Hansen centric and contemptuous of authority. But he was also acknowledged as bold, brilliant, Aprivate family AP file photo/Robert F. Bukaty memorial service for meticulous and tireless in the defense of his In this May 22, 2014, file photo, famed defense attorney F. Lee Bailey poses in his Peggy L. Hansen, age 71, clients. office in Yarmouth, Maine. Bailey, the celebrity attorney who defended O.J. Simp- who passed away on June “The legal profession is a business with son, Patricia Hearst and the alleged , but whose legal career halted 1, 2021 will be held at a a tremendous collection of egos,” Bailey said when he was disbarred in two states, has died, a former colleague confirmed Thurs- later date. an in interview with U.S. News and World Survivors include her day. He was 87. husband LeRoy Hansen of Report in September 1981. “Few people who Minden, Iowa; sons are not strong egotistically gravitate to it.” Bailey earned acquittals for many of his “Enjoying the public eye became a tool for Richard (Lori) Hansen of Some of Bailey’s other high-profile clients clients, but he also lost cases, most notably him,” Fishman said. “He was one of the first Minden, Iowa; Robert included Dr. Samuel Sheppard — accused of Hearst’s. lawyers to go outside the courtroom and (Amy) Hansen of Minden, killing his wife — and Capt. Ernest Medina, Hearst, a publishing heiress, was kid- talk in front of a bunch of microphones. All Iowa; 5grandchildren; charged in connection with the My Lai mas- napped by the Symbionese Liberation Army the news about a case was from the prose- sister Becky Jensen of sacre during the Vietnam War. Underwood, Minnesota. terrorist group on Feb. 4, 1974, and partici- cution’s side. So his strategy was to get out Bailey, an avid pilot, best-selling author pated in armed robberies with the group. At there and throw doubt on all the criminal and television show host, was a member of trial, Bailey claimed she was coerced into charges.” the legal “” that defended Simp- participating because she feared for her life. Bailey was disbarred in Florida in 2001 son, the former star NFL running back and She still was convicted. and the next year in for the "'&%!$#$ actor acquitted on charges that he killed his Hearst called Bailey an “ineffective coun- way he handled millions of dollars in stock wife, , and her friend, sel” who reduced the trial to “a mockery, owned by a convicted drug smuggler in Ron Goldman, in 1995. a farce, and a sham,” in a declaration she 1994. He spent almost six weeks in federal In a tweet Thursday, Simpson said, “I signed with a motion to reduce her sen- prison charged with contempt of court in lost a great one. F Lee Bailey you will be tence. Hearst accused him of sacrificing her 1996 after refusing to turn over the stock. missed.” defense in an effort to get a book deal about The experience left him “embittered.” Bailey was the most valuable member of the case. He passed the bar exam in Maine in 2013, the team, Simpson said in a 1996 story in She was released in January 1979 after but was denied the right to practice by the Magazine. President Jimmy Carter commuted her sen- state’s highest court, which concluded that “He was able to simplify everything and tence. Your complete center he had not demonstrated that he under- identify what the most vital parts of the Bailey made his name as the attorney for for all of your stood the seriousness of his actions that led case were,” Simpson said. “Lee laid down Sheppard, an Ohio osteopath convicted in memorial needs. to his disbarment in the other states. 2323 W. Broadway what the case’s strategy was, what was 1954 of murdering his wife. Francis Lee Bailey was born in the Bos- 712-329-0905 going to be important and what was not. I Sheppard spent more than a decade ton suburb of Waltham, the son of a news- Mall of the Bluffs thought he had an amazing grasp of what behind bars before the U.S. Supreme Court paper advertising man and a schoolteacher. 712-322-4117 was going to be the most important parts ruled in a landmark 1966 decision that of the case, and that turned out to be true.” “massive, pervasive, prejudicial publicity” He enrolled at Harvard University in ,&'" #!$'!"' +!. One of the most memorable moments of had violated his rights. Bailey helped win 1950 but left at the end of his sophomore %!-' )'(!$'# * the trial came when Bailey cross-examined an acquittal at a second trial. year to train to become a Marine pilot. He %#%)'! Los Angeles police Detective Mark Fuhr- Bailey also defended Albert DeSalvo, the retained a lifelong love of flying and even man in an attempt to portray him as a racist man who claimed responsibility for the Bos- owned his own aviation company. whose goal was to frame Simpson. It was ton Strangler murders between 1962 and While in the military, Bailey volunteered $!" '"'&%# classic Bailey. 1964. DeSalvo confessed to the slayings, for the legal staff at the Cherry Point )'(!$'# * Fuhrman denied using racial epithets, but was never tried or convicted, and later Marine Corps Air Station in North Carolina, but the defense later turned up recordings recanted. Despite doubts thrown on DeSal- and soon found himself the legal officer for $'#&"('# of Fuhrman making racist slurs. vo’s claim, Bailey always maintained that more than 2,000 men. #%!%$"% Even though Fuhrman remained cool DeSalvo was the strangler. Bailey earned a law degree from Boston under pressure, and some legal experts Throughout his career, Bailey antago- University in 1960, where he had a 90.5 called the confrontation a draw, Bailey, nized authorities with his sometimes abra- average, but he graduated without honors recalling the exchange months later, said, sive style and his quest for publicity. He was because he refused to join the Law Review. “That was the day Fuhrman dug his own censured by a Massachusetts judge in 1970 He said the university waived the require- grave.” for “his philosophy of extreme egocentricity,” ment for an undergraduate degree because Bailey’s latest book, “The Truth About and was disbarred for a year in New Jersey of his military legal experience. the O.J. Simpson Trial: By The Architect in 1971 for talking publicly about a case. Bailey was married four times and of the Defense,” was being released this But publicity was part of his strategy, divorced three. His fourth wife, Patricia, month. Fishman said. died in 1999. He had three children.