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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: January 26, 2023 09:59 AM
From: Senator Daniel Laughlin
To: All Senate members
Subject: Condolence Resolution for Former Attorney General William Sennett
 
I plan to introduce a condolence resolution honoring the life and work of former Attorney General William Sennett, who passed away on January 23, 2023, at the age of 92.  He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, on June 1, 1930, the son of Attorney B. Walker Sennett and Rosanna “Oie” Cooney Sennett.
 
Attorney Sennett graduated from Cathedral Prep in Erie in 1948 (subsequently inducted into the Cathedral Prep Hall of Fame in 2002); Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, cum laude in 1952; and Georgetown Law School in 1955, where he was an Editor of the Georgetown Law Review.

Following graduation from Georgetown Law School in 1955, he clerked in Washington, D.C., in the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit for the Honorable John A. Danaher, Judge. After his clerkship, he practiced law in Erie for over 50 years with his father, B. Walker Sennett, and with Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, where he was President from 1985 to 1994.

Attorney Sennett practiced in the areas of government, municipal law and industrial and corporate finance. He acted as bond counsel on numerous bond issues throughout Northwestern, PA. He acted 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. He was a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers. He was a founder of the Pennsylvania Association of Bond Lawyers and served on its Board of Directors, including President of the Association from 1989 to 1990.

He served as the youngest Attorney General in Pennsylvania in the administration of Governor Raymond P. Shafer from 1967 to 1970. He represented the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania before the Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania and the United States in numerous cases. In 1979, he was appointed to the Pennsylvania Appellate Court Nominating Commission. He was a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

In Erie, he served as a Trustee of Mercyhurst University for four decades, including 13 years as chairman. In recognition of his commitment, he was granted Trustee Emeritus status in 2014, and the Sennett Board Room in the Hammermill Library was named in his honor. He also served in various lay positions at St. George Church and Parish from the 1960s to the 1990s. He was a member of the Erie County Bar Association and was recognized as the Chancellor of the Bar. He also was a member of the Board of Trustees at the Jefferson Educational Society.

Attorney Sennett was predeceased by his first wife and mother of his children, Pauline (Polly) Wuenschel Sennett, whom he married in 1954 and who died in 2005.  He is survived by his current wife, Marlene L. Braham and his six children: William, Timothy, Patrick, Mark, Kathleen, and Carolyn.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this condolence resolution to honor the life and work of Attorney Sennett who was highly respected not only for his legal expertise and lifelong record of achievement, but also for his considerate, humble, and generous nature. 



Introduced as SR43