John Barry Beemer

John Barry Beemer

August 24, 2023

 John Barry Beemer, 81, of Clarks Summit, died on Thursday morning at home. 

John Barry Beemer was a prominent trial lawyer and environmental activist whose law career spanned over 50 years and won numerous trials that had national impact. Born September 4, 1941, in Scranton, PA, to Ellis T. and Rosemary Costello Beemer, he attended St. Paul’s High School where he discovered and developed talents for debating and writing. Barry graduated from the University of Scranton in 1963, where he was on the Debating Team and active in student politics. 

At the suggestion of late State Senator Robert Casey, Barry’s preceptor, Barry attended Casey’s alma mater, The George Washington University Law School, in Washington, D.C.  There he met fellow law student, Diane Fletcher, who would soon become his wife and eventual law partner. 

After graduating from Law School in 1966 and serving a three-month clerkship with State Senator Casey, Barry was admitted to the Bar on Casey’s Motion that same year. In 1967, he and his wife Diane, returned to Scranton where Barry was Law Clerk to United States District Judge William J. Nealon, who remained a mentor and friend throughout Barry’s career.  Barry decided he wanted to represent the injured and accused, and at the age of thirty (30), he was the founding partner of the Scranton law firm Beemer, Brier, Rinaldi & Fendrick, and became president of their successor firm Beemer, Rinaldi, Fendrick & Mellody, P. C., in 1977.

After a substantial career as a trial lawyer, Barry and his wife Diane formed the law firm of Beemer and Beemer in 1984. In 2010, Barry was joined in law practice by his son Bruce, who later served as the 49^th Attorney General in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Inspector General, and currently is a Judge serving on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas in Pittsburgh.  Barry’s oldest son, David, was the only family member who chose a path apart from law.  David has been a teacher at Scranton High School for over 24 years, where he eventually taught law, among other subjects.

Attorney Beemer, in a career that spanned over 50 years, won numerous trials that had national impact.  He earned a reputation as an advocate on behalf of victims exposed  to environmental contamination, and along with his wife and law partner, Diane, represented hundreds of individuals exposed to contamination by large corporations, including representing hundreds of residents in the Borough of Throop who had been exposed to lead contamination from a battery crushing plant.  Attorney Beemer also fought for and obtained a settlement  for hundreds of people living in the Abington area who were victims of contamination from tenants of the Ivy Industrial Park, and in 2015 was a part of a high-powered legal team that obtained a large settlement on behalf of several hundred individuals and businesses in Endicott, New York due to groundwater contamination from volatile organic chemicals.

Barry was preceded in death by a sister, Barbara Beemer, and brother, Richard Beemer.  He was married to Attorney Diane F. Beemer for thirty-five years until her death in 1999.  Barry is survived by his 2 sons and their families, David Beemer, wife Ronda, and children Brett and Brooke, Judge Bruce Beemer, wife Jodi, and children Jackson and Jordan. He is also survived by his partner for over 20 years, Helen Tolerico.

The funeral will be conducted on Friday, September 1, 2023 with Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 9:30 am in the Cathedral of Saint Peter, 315 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton. The family will receive relatives and friends at the church from 8:30 am until the commencement of services. Interment following at Cathedral Cemetery, Scranton.

Arrangements entrusted to the Frank M. Regan Funeral Home, 323 William Street, Scranton.