"The Beard Grows, But The Head Does Not Grow Wiser."
"Lawyers work hard and, like us, they're human, many of them."-Dick Cavett
“A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.” - H. L. Mencken
"I tell you, I'll consult my lawyer. And if he advises me to do it, I'll get a new lawyer."-Groucho Marx 
"We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can."
Back at the end of March, 2020 I wrote a post for this blog about Judge Olzark. The post can be found here.
The article combined two areas of interest for me-the Detroit legal scene, the subject of this blog, and Detroit Catholic school history.
Judge Olzark served as a Wayne County Circuit judge and was a member of 1945 graduating class of Detroit Catholic Central High School (my alma mater).
On the evening of Sunday, December 27, 2020 I saw I had a FB friend request, and a request to join the "I Went to Catholic School in Metro Detroit" FB group I moderate, from an Elena Olzark. I thought there might be a connection. Later in the evening I checked my work email, and there was a message from Elena. She is Judge Olzark's daughter. She found the March blog post during an internet search. The judge was not doing well, and she was searching for material in anticipation of writing an obituary. She had some questions about how I had obtained certain high school photos of young Roland. I replied that I'd call her on Monday.
Elena lives in San Francisco. I called her early Monday afternoon Detroit time. She said she had been able to Facetime her dad earlier that morning and had read him the article.
We talked about the judge, his life and career and matters Detroit-related for about a half hour.
She thanked me for my post. I did relate something to her something I had not included in the post, namely that Judge Olzark and I did have our battles in the courtroom from time to time. But, I did forget to mention, he also helped me out on one particularly ticklish matter, when a strict reading of the court rules could have allowed him to do otherwise, to my detriment. I still remember that, from a lot of years ago.
I asked Elena to keep me advised of events, and I saw late this afternoon on Facebook that Judge Olzark had passed away. I assumed that happened today, Tuesday the 29th, but looking closer I saw that he died on Monday. I had another message from Elena today and she thinks he may have passed shortly after her Facetime chat with him.
We have, sadly, lost a member of the "Guild" and a fellow Shamrock.
The purpose of Lex Fugit is to remember those who do, and have practiced law in Southeast Michigan, and to preserve those memories.
I am glad I was able to write about Judge Olzark before he passed.
We are still aiming towards the November 24, 2021 party at Jacoby's on Brush, circumstances allowing. Again, no program, no speeches, no awards, no fundraising. Just fellowship among us legal types.
By the way Elena Olzark is familiar with Jacobys both as a patron and as the place of employment of one of her close friends. I am glad she knows where it is. She is invited.
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