Peter M. Zaums (1944-2020)
Michigan lawyer dedicated to his clients, ‘missions.’
By Mark Zaborney / The Blade
Wed, 12 Aug 2020 04:00:00 GMT
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LAMBERTVILLE — Peter M. Zaums, who sought ways to help, through his legal practice and volunteer service to church and community, died Sunday in his Lambertville home. He was 76.
He had lung cancer the last eight months, said his wife, Mary Lou Zaums. He hadn’t planned to retire and had 90 active cases.
“He spent as much physically able time taking care of the clients as he could,” said his wife, a retired principal of Bedford Junior High School. “I’ve always said if Pete did not become an attorney, he would be a social worker. He loved to help people to his best ability. He really was committed to bringing about the very best result for his client and the very best honest result for the entire process.”
J. Henry Lievens, a lawyer since 2004, a Monroe County commissioner, and a friend, said: “He was one of the good guys.”
Mr. Zaums had a general practice. He found satisfaction in estate planning, to ensure the future for clients’ families.
“He had a tremendous organizational bent. Many people appreciated him for that,” his wife said.
Daughter Chrissey said: “Dad prided himself on not just being a lawyer but a counselor-at-law.”
Clients who became friends, Anna and James Wheeler, wanted their 22-acre homestead to be preserved for wildlife, not developed, after they died. The Bedford Township park board agreed, and Wheeler Wildlife Preserve opened in summer, 2019.
“He felt fulfilled by that,” his wife said.
Mr. Zaums closed his office June 30, with other lawyers agreeing to take those cases he hadn’t wrapped up.
He was president of Heartbeat of Monroe and a past president of Bedford Township Lions Club. At his church, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, he’d been on the parish council and the St. Vincent de Paul Society and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He was attorney for Green Hills, the Lambertville subdivision where the Zaums are longtime residents. He also was a dedicated member, along with his wife, of the Bowling Green Curling Center.
“He never stopped having a mission, and sometimes he had two or three,” his wife said. “He wasn’t happy unless he had an organization in which he could give back to others.”
He was born July 10, 1944, to Mildred and Michael Zaums and grew up in Riverside, Ill, near Chicago.
He attended Benet Academy in Lisle, Ill, and was a 1966 graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati. An Army veteran, he was a first lieutenant and assigned to the adjutant general corps on Okinawa.
He was a 1973 graduate of the University of Toledo law school.
“He had a wonderful quirky sense of insight and an eccentric sense of humor,” Mr. Lievens said. “He was 100 percent devoted to his family and his church.”
Surviving are his wife, the former Mary Lou Devine, whom he married Sept. 30, 1967; daughters, Jenn Scally, Mary Beth Schlick, and Chrissey Zaums; stepsisters, Patricia and Mary Alice, and seven grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 2-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Coyle Funeral Home, with Scripture service and eulogies at 6:30 p.m. A Mass will begin at noon Thursday in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Temperance, and streamed live on the church’s Facebook page. Beforehand, the family will greet friends outside the church. Wearing face masks and practicing a social distance are requested at the funeral home and church. A life celebration will be scheduled later.
At Mr. Zaum’s request, the family suggests tributes to Heartbeat of Monroe in Monroe; the Society of St. Vincent de Paul; Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Temperance, or Xavier University, Cincinnati.