James L. Kaler (1918-2007)

James L. Kaler, 89; Lawyer, WWII Vet

Thursday, April 5, 2007; Page B08 (Washington Post)

James L. Kaler, 89, a retired lawyer who represented clients before the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, died March 31 of a heart attack at his home in Wilmington, N.C. He was a former Bethesda resident.

Mr. Kaler was born in Marydel, Md., and grew up in Marydel and Elkton, graduating from Elkton High School in 1934. He received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia in a six-year program, graduating in 1940. He passed the Maryland bar exam with the second-highest grade that year.

An Army artillery officer with the 204th Antiaircraft Weapons Battalion during World War II, he was involved in combat operations in Europe from shortly before D-Day until his discharge after VJ Day in 1945.

He was a lawyer in the War Assets Department of the federal government until 1951, when he joined the Washington law firm of Klagsburn, Hanes and Irwin. For the next 38 years, he practiced government contract, federal administrative and international law. In the 1960s, his firm was renamed Kaler, Worsley, Daniel and Hollman. In the late 1980s, it merged with a Baltimore firm to form Ober Kaler, with whom he remained of counsel until his death.

His clients included Bristol-Myers Squibb, TRW Automotive, Olin, Northwest Airlines, Reynolds Metals Co. and Pechiney SA. He procured the initial grant for the first nonstop route over Alaska to Japan on behalf of Northwest Airlines and structured transactions for an aluminum plant in Africa.

He retired from active law practice in 1989 and moved to Wilmington, his wife's hometown. A golfer for many years, he was a member of Kenwood Golf and Country Club in Bethesda and the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington. He also was a member of the Army & Navy Club, St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Bethesda and St. Andrews on-the-Sound Episcopal Church in Wilmington.

His wife, Lucy Rogers Kaler, died in 2004.

Survivors include his son, James L. Kaler Jr. of Gaithersburg; and two granddaughters.

Source: Washington Post, 5 April 2007.
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James L. (Jim) Kaler is a brother of Price William Wallace Kaler (1914-2000). Price Kaler was at one time married to Mary Kerr Motz (1917-2005) of Yanceyville, Caswell County, North Carolina. Mary Kerr Motz is the daughter of Alexander Hamilton Motz (1885-1973) and Martha Frances Kerr (1883-1965). The A. H. Motz building remains standing in Yanceyville on the Court Square.
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Kaler, James L., 89, died Saturday at home. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. today at St. Andrew's On-the-Sound Episcopal Church. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Andrews Mortuary, Market Street Chapel. Published in the Star-News on 4/5/2007.
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James L. Kaler, 89, of Wilmington, NC, died at his home on Saturday, March 31, 2007. He was born February 17, 1918, in Marydel, MD, the youngest of two sons, to the late Bert and Bertha Kaler. Mr. Kaler grew up in Elkton and Marydel, MD, graduating from Elkton High School in 1934. Following graduation, he attended the University of Virginia college and law school, graduating in the famous law school class of 1940. He passed the Maryland bar exam with the second highest grade that year. After law school, he volunteered for the U.S. Army, and when hostilities broke out, he attended Officer Candidate School ("OCS"). He trained as an artillery officer at Camp Davis, N.C., near Wilmington. During that time, he met Lucy Rogers, the love of his life. They married on September 28, 1941 and were married for 63 years until her death in December 2004. During World War II, he was promoted to captain, in command of a company of anti-aircraft artillery which shot down two Junker JU-88's in the European Theatre. His company landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day plus 2. They made their way, under his command, through France and Belgium, including the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. After the war, he was a lawyer in the War Assets Department of the federal government until 1951 when he joined the Washington, D.C., law firm of Klagsburn, Hanes and Irwin. For the next 38 years he practiced government contract, federal administrative, and international law on behalf of various corporate clients. In the 1960's, his firm was renamed Kaler, Worsley, Daniel, and Hollman. In the late 1980's, his firm merged with a Baltimore, MD, firm to form Ober Kaler with whom he remained of counsel until his death. In 1989, he retired from the active practice of law and moved to Wilmington, his wife's hometown. He was a member of St. Andrews on the Sound Episcopal Church, the Country Club of Landfall, and the Landfall Men's Golf Association. He is survived by his son, James L. Kaler Jr., two granddaughters, Kelly Darling Kaler and Lindsey Rogers Kaler, all of Gaithersburg, MD; a nephew, Price W.W. Kaler Jr. of Jefferson, MD; a niece, Ann Hynes of Quantico, MD; and their children, who are his 4 grandnieces and 4 grandnephews. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 5, 2007, at St. Andrews on the Sound Episcopal Church. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. Wednesday at Andrews Mortuary Market Street Chapel. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.andrewsmortuary.com A Market Street Chapel Service.

Published in the Star-News on 4/3/2007.