PRINTER'S NO. 375
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
43
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY LAUGHLIN, PENNYCUICK, FONTANA, MARTIN, PHILLIPS-
HILL, LANGERHOLC, CAPPELLETTI, BARTOLOTTA, ROTHMAN, COMITTA,
COSTA AND HUTCHINSON, FEBRUARY 27, 2023
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, FEBRUARY 27, 2023
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and achievements of former Attorney General
William C. Sennett and expressing condolences on his passing.
WHEREAS, William C. Sennett was born June 1, 1930, the son of
B. Walker Sennett and Rosanna Cooney Sennett, in Erie; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett graduated from Cathedral Preparatory
School in Erie in 1948 and was subsequently inducted into the
Cathedral Preparatory School Hall of Fame in 2002; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett graduated cum laude from Holy Cross
College in 1952 and Georgetown Law School, where he was an
editor of the Georgetown Law Review; and
WHEREAS, Following his graduation from Georgetown Law School
in 1955, Mr. Sennett clerked in Washington, DC, in the United
States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, for the
Honorable John A. Danaher, Judge; and
WHEREAS, After his clerkship, Mr. Sennett practiced law in
Erie for over 50 years with his father, B. Walker Sennett, and
with Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, where he was president
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from 1985 to 1994; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett practiced in the areas of government,
municipal law and industrial and corporate finance, including
acting as bond counsel on numerous bond issues throughout the
northwestern region of this Commonwealth and acting as solicitor
for the Erie Sewer Authority, Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port
Authority, North East School District, the Millcreek Township
Water Authority and the Automotive Association of Erie County;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett was a member of the National Association
of Bond Lawyers, and also a founder of the Pennsylvania
Association of Bond Lawyers, for which he served on the board of
directors and as president from 1989 to 1990; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett served as the youngest Attorney General
in the history of this Commonwealth in the administration of
Governor Raymond P. Shafer from 1967 to 1970, where he
represented this Commonwealth before the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania and the United States Supreme Court in numerous
cases; and
WHEREAS, In 1979, Mr. Sennett was appointed to the
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Nominating Commission; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett was a fellow of the American Bar
Foundation and also a member of the Erie County Bar Association,
where he was recognized as the chancellor; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett served as a trustee of Mercyhurst
University for four decades, including 13 years as chairman; and
WHEREAS, In recognition of this commitment, Mr. Sennett was
granted trustee emeritus status in 2014, and the Sennett Board
Room in the Hammermill Library was named in his honor; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett was also a member of the board of
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trustees at the Jefferson Educational Society; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett served in various lay positions at St.
George Church and Parish in Erie from the 1960s to the 1990s;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett passed away on January 23, 2023, at 92
years of age, while surrounded by family in Erie; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sennett is survived by his wife Marlene L.
Braham and his six children, William Sennett, Timothy Sennett,
Patrick Sennett, Mark Sennett, Kathleen Broadbent and Carolyn
Sennett, as well as numerous grandchildren, nieces and nephews;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the life and achievements of
former Attorney General William C. Sennett and express
condolences on his passing.
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