Firm Founder John W. Appel Passes
By Hoge Fenton | 12.12.2013 | Firm Post
We are very sorry to announce that firm founder John W. Appel passed away December 12.
John was admitted to the California Bar in 1955 and shortly after was invited to join J. Hampton Hoge, Lewis L. Fenton and Edwin D. “Bud” Jones to form our firm, and was made a partner three years later.
He was well respected by his colleagues. Michael D. McSweeney, a long-time Hoge Fenton shareholder, said, “In 43 years of practice I have had the privilege of working closely with three giants of our profession: Lew Fenton, Bud Jones and John Appel. Each was unique; each was a talented and intelligent practitioner of the art of trial work (with more than 500 jury trials each); each contributed to the firm that has now outlasted all three. With the passing of John an era has come to a close, but because of who they were and the principles they set in place that continue to guide the firm their passing will be honored by those who carry on HFJA’s proud traditions. John’s passing is a personal loss to me; we were more than colleagues and law partners, we were friends in the truest sense of the term. I will miss him, and I will treasure my memories, which undoubtedly will grow even sweeter with the passage of time.”
John is survived by daughter Patricia Appel, brother Cyril Appel, nieces, nephews and grandchildren.
Donations may be made in John’s name to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at www.michaeljfox.org or c/o Grunnagle-Ament-Nelson Funeral Home, 870 San Benito St., Hollister, CA 95023. To send condolences, visit www.grunnagle.com.
