Barney McDermott 1950

Copy of b.f.x.mcd, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. McDermott, dead at 88 Bernard Francis Xavier McDonald, M.D., J.D., noted physician and attorney who specialized in medical malpractice legal matters died in his sleep on Friday morning September 28 from natural causes. He was a life-long resident of New York City where his practice grew into a powerhouse of medical and legal knowledge from a humble one-man office in the 1940's. Former associate, Lee (Levi) Sternberg, attorney now retired remembers, "The only job I ever had was working for Dr. McDermott. He was demanding but respectful; temperamental but very kind and he was loyal to his employees." McDermott was known as a commanding presence in the court room, an elegant dresser and a fine orator. Says Sternberg, "The doctor would look at pages of notes we prepared and within 10 minutes he would have captured all the details to his memory. He would stand before the jury and with the skill of an accomplished Shakespearean-trained actor present his side of the argument. I would like to emphasis that he never talked above or below his audience but he talked to them, eyeball to eyeball." On returning back to our office after a successful day in court, our remaining colleagues would ask, "How did it go?" And our standard response was, "Bob Hope only wishes he could play a room like Dr. McDermott played that court room." As the firm grew Dr. McDermott expanded his office and started a tradition of being chauffeured everywhere. While many in the profession made snide remarks about his new status symbol, there was a heart-breaking reason for the private car. His youngest daughter, Talulla, was severely handicapped mentally. When she was 8 she chased the family's pet cat into the street and was struck and killed by a truck. Dr. McDermott observed the entire accident from the window. Her ran to her side but she was already dead and he held her in his arms till an ambulance arrived. The accident moved him so much that he refused to drive for fear of being the driver in a similar situation. Dr. McDermott was married to the former Marie Louise (Mary Lou) Fitzmorris for 58 years. He is survived by daughters: Bridget, Bernadette, Siobhan, Honora and sons: Brendanus and Malachy. He was predeceased: daughter: Talulla and son: Seamus. Mrs. McDermott's family was associated in a professional capacity with Mrs. Florenz Ziegfeld (Billie Burke) where the McDermotts started to cultivate their many friendships with the world of show business: theatre, ice shows and circuses. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------