Former State Bar President Rodney O. Kittelsen’s extraordinary contributions to the community leave a lasting legacy

Former State Bar President Rodney O. Kittelsen passed away on Sept. 8. He was 90. Kittelsen was a partner of the firm he started in 1946 with the late Marshal L. Peterson, now Kittelsen, Barry, Ross, Wellington & Thompson, and was a State Bar Senior Lawyers Division board member at the time of his death. Until recently he went to the office for several hours a day.

Rodney Kittelsen, 1917-2007

Generosity well-known. Kittelsen was a lifetime member of the Fellows of the Wisconsin Law Foundation, a former Wisconsin Law Foundation president and a board of directors member. In 2005, Kittelsen’s generosity helped launch the creation of the Mock Trial Designated Fund, which was established to support the continued success of the program that began 25 years ago during his term as Foundation president.

“To me, as an older colleague, Rod Kittlesen embodied the virtues of a thoughtful counselor, advocate, and active member of both his local and the Wisconsin legal community throughout his long and distinguished career,” said former Wisconsin Law Foundation President Cheryl Daniels. “Attorneys like Rod are not easy to replace and all lawyers can use him as a model of what our own careers should be.”

Active leader. Kittelsen was active in the State Bar for many years. He served as president of the State Bar from 1976-77 and several terms on the Board of Governors. Kittelsen served on the Pro Bono Committee and as recently as 2005 he was a member of the Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) Strategy and Guidance Subcommittee.

“Rod Kittelsen was an outstanding lawyer, loved by his clients, and respected by everyone. His sense of humor was legendary,” said former State Bar president George K. Steil Sr. “I have lost a great friend.”

“Rod’s contributions to the State Bar of Wisconsin as president and in many other capacities are legendary, as were his contributions to his local community and the Green County Bar Association,” said long-time friend Rex Ewald of Monroe. “He was a truly amazing person, and I consider myself privileged to have been his friend and colleague.”

A Wisconsin farm boy from Monroe, Kittelsen graduated from U.W. Law School in 1939 and then practiced law in Milwaukee before becoming a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During his five-year tenure at the agency, Kittelsen worked in the civil rights, treason, and domestic violence areas. Based in Albany, N.Y., his work with the bureau took him to St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York, and Washington D.C.

During his years with the FBI Kittelsen supervised several investigations for the government involving American citizens who broadcast enemy propaganda from Italy, Germany, and the Orient, many of whom were indicted in 1943. Most famous of these was Dr. Ezra Pound, a well-known American poet who turned traitor for Mussolini.

Kittelsen served as the Green County District Attorney from 1947 to 1953. He served as the Monroe Police and Fire Commission president in the late 1940s. In 1986, Kittelsen served as legal counsel for X-FBI Inc. in Quantico, Va. He was a member of the American College Trust and Estate Council in Chicago since 1983.

Many awards. Kittelsen received many awards for his distinguished service to the legal profession, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the state, and the nation. He received the Wisconsin Law Foundation’s Truman Q. McNulty and Charles L. Goldberg Distinguished Service awards, the U.W. Law School’s Distinguished Service and Alumni Association Distinguished Service awards, the Albany FFA Outstanding Service Award, and the Monroe Jaycees Outstanding Citizen Award.

Kittelsen’s wife of 65 years, Pearle, passed away in 2005. He leaves three sons, Greg, James, and Bradley.

In the words of Rod’s grandson, Jeff, “He had a great life, a big part of which was integrally connected with the Bar and all its members through his many years.”

Visitation is from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Shriner Hager Gohlke Funeral Home in Monroe. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Monroe United Methodist Church.

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