We lost a great American citizen last week. Bev Schenck was a friend of mine and we worked together for a few years and she asked me to give her eulogy when she died. I took her seriously and since there will be no service for her I keep my promise by this letter.

Bev was a paralegal and came to work with me when I started my law practice in 2003.

I had met her through a mutual acquaintance. It was hard getting paying clients at first because Bev kept me busy by bringing me a lot of people with little money but a lot of legal troubles. We worked through it and in the process she showed me her drive to do the right thing.

Bev was active in local government and as a former Center Township supervisor had ongoing battles with the township administration and on a few occasions challenged their decisions in court. She was criticized by some people that she was wasting township money by her reluctance to cave in to what she perceived to be mismanagement or worse. But, one must know she paid her own legal fees to fight for what she thought was right. So whatever cost paid by the township was spread through tax dollars to the 12,000 or so residents, while Bev paid 100 percent of her own.

She brought me the case of the Merchant mariners in their quest for listing on the Diamond Park Veterans Memorial. She spent hundreds of hours in meetings and research in preparing and trying the case and she was not paid a dime. It was the right thing to do.

She was a human being like all of us and had her faults as do we all; however, one of them was not dishonesty. I doubt most people know of all the free work and advice Bev gave to so many people with legal problems throughout the time I knew her.

She lost her husband, Mike, a short time ago and it did not surprise me she followed quickly based on her obvious love for him.

She was a true friend, an advocate for good government and a patriot. She would face down the lawyers and politicians regardless of their stature. I think she would like her epitaph to read, “If you don’t like my apples, don’t shake my tree.”