PBF Remembers Duane Beeson

Wednesday, July 7th, 2021

Peggy Browning Fund is saddened to share the news of the passing of our good friend Duane Beeson on Saturday, July 3 at the age of 98. Most recently Of Counsel with the firm, Beeson, Tayer & Bodine, in Oakland and Sacramento, CA, Duane was a longtime supporter and former awardee of PBF’s inaugural awards reception in San Francisco in 2012.

As senior partner in the firm, Duane specialized in public and private sector labor law, including the representation of employee benefit plans.  He received his BA, summa cum laude, from Lafayette College and his LL.B at Harvard Law School.  He also served in the army in the European theater during WWII.

PBF Board member Pat Szymanski, who has known Duane for decades, share the following, “Duane was, of course, a longtime union lawyer and was beloved by all who knew him.  He was a wonderful example of what we, as union lawyers, aspire to be – supremely competent and experienced, quietly but firmly dedicated to serving the interests of workers and their families, a true believer in collective action, decent and compassionate to all.  It was a delight to know Duane.  We shall miss him.”