NAFUSA Board of Directors Member, Deborah Gilg passed away on November 16, 2022, after a short but courageous battle with colon cancer. She was 70.

Deborah was appointed by President Obama in 2009 as the United States Attorney for
Nebraska, the first woman to hold this position, and served until her retirement from the
Department of Justice in 2017. During her tenure she served on numerous Committees under Attorneys General Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch, including serving as Chair of the  Federal Task Force on Violence Against Native American Women. She was instrumental in that role in securing federal resources for the investigation and prosecution of domestic violence and sexual assault cases against Native American Women.

After leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Deborah became even more active in community engagement in her home state of Nebraska. She founded the organization Fearless, Fierce, and Forward to provide women with empowerment training in the areas of gender pay parity, negotiation skills, surviving domestic violence and professional development. She also served in leadership positions with the Nebraska Jail Standards Board for 24 years, having been appointed by 5 different governors. She joined the adjunct faculty at the University of Nebraska College of Law, her alma mater, and later served as adjunct faculty at the Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law at Arizona State University.

Among her many honors and awards were the Nebraska Bar Foundation’s Outstanding Public Service Award and the Nebraska Women’s Bar Association’s Outstanding Contribution to Women in the Law Award. She was a lifetime Nebraska Bar Foundation Fellow and a member of the Nebraska, Iowa, and Colorado Bar Associations. She loved to travel, was a talented pianist and devoted mother and grandmother.

According to colleague and former NAFUSA Board member Barry Grissom, in addition to these achievements, Deborah was a backup singer to Kenny Rogers and participated in the Alaska Iditarod on several occasions, riding in portions of the race. She was also the County Coroner for Keich County, Nebraska.

He added that Deborah, who was a strong supporter of breaking glass ceilings, on one occasion, when the selection of a new leader was being discussed at a Midwest HIDTA meeting, pointed out, “I don’t play golf with you, I’m not in the good ole boy club, but if you want someone to lead who has experience, I’m your person.” At that point the U.S. Attorney from Kansas responded, “If that’s a motion, I second it.” The motion passed.

Deborah is survived by her husband of 46 years, Dan; her daughters Colleen and Nicole; her son Greg; and six grandchildren. If you would like to offer condolences, Dan can be reached at gilgd0415@gmail.com or 16607 Harney Street, Omaha NB 68118.

In keeping with NAFUSA tradition, a flag will be flown over the Department of Justice in her honor.

Former NAFUSA member Charles (“Chuck”) W. Larson, Sr. passed away on Thursday November 3, 2022. He was 87. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Ellen Larson and two children, Charles W. Larson, Jr. and Carrie Larson Graham.

Chuck was appointed by President Ronald Reagan and reappointed by President George H.W. Bush to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa from 1986 to 1993. In 2001, President George W. Bush reappointed him to the U.S. Attorney position where he served until his retirement in 2006. In 2004 he took a leave of absence from this position to serve as Senior Justice Advisor to the U.S.
Ambassador to Iraq, at the United States Embassy in Baghdad. Chuck was a graduate of the United States Army War College and the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He served in the United States Army Reserve for 33 years.

Chuck earned his juris doctor degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and his Bachelor of Science Degree from Kansas State University. A private service with military honors was held on Friday, November 11, in his hometown of Princeton, Illinois. In keeping with NAFUSA tradition, a flag was flown over the Department of Justice in his honor.

Benjamin Civiletti, the seventy-third Attorney General of the United States, died on October 16, 2022. Mr. Civiletti graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1961 with an LLB degree. After clerking for Federal District Judge Calvin Chestnut, he became an Assistant United States Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland for two years before entering the private practice of law. Prior to being sworn in as Attorney General during the Carter administration upon the resignation of Attorney General Griffin Bell, Mr. Civiletti headed the Criminal Division until being nominated for Deputy Attorney General in May 1978. He was sworn in as Attorney General on August 16, 1979. As Attorney General he argued before the International Court of Justice on behalf of Americans being held captive in Iran during the Iran Hostage crisis and before the Supreme Court in support of the government’s right to denaturalize Nazi war criminals in Fedorenko v. U.S.

Mr. Civiletti was Chairman Emeritus and retired partner in the law firm Venable LLP in Washington, D.C. until his death at the age of 87. He is survived by his wife, Gaile and their three children.

On September 9, 2022, Tom Delahanty’s former U.S. Attorney colleagues, Eric Miller, Rick Hartunian, Emily Rice, Carmen Ortiz and John Kacavas, presented the American flag flown over the Department of Justice in observance of Tom’s passing on April 12, 2021, to his wife, Ruth, and son Patrick. (See April 15, 2021, article about Tom Delahanty’s passing and remembering his outstanding career on the NAFUSA website.) The group enjoyed lunch on the Boston waterfront remembering Tom’s wit, wisdom, good humor, and devoted service.

Above is a photo of Tom with his wife and U.S. Attorney colleagues at a Northern Border Conference in Lake Placid, N.Y. in September, 2011.

Long time NAFUSA member and president 1985-1986, Earl J. Sibert died on September 6, 2022, near his vacation home in New Hampshire. He was 86. In 1972, Mr. Silbert, then a 36-year-old Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C., led the federal prosecution of defendants in the botched Watergate burglary. He and a team of two other AUSAs and FBI agents secured the convictions of all five burglars and two of the planners of the break-in, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy. All defendants
except Mr. Liddy and James McCord pleaded guilty shortly after the trial began in January 1973. Mr. Silbert earned the title “Earl the Pearl,” for his polished manner during the case. After the trial, Mr. Silbert and his team met with others involved in the break in and cover up and later provided that information, along with names of potential targets, to Archibald Cox, who had been appointed Watergate Special Prosecutor.

Mr. Silbert obtained his Bachelor’s degree in history from Harvard University in 1957 and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard in 1960. He began working for the Department of Justice’s Tax Division right out of law school before becoming an AUSA for five years in the Washington D.C. U.S. Attorneys Office. He returned to the Justice Department in 1969, briefly, before returning to the U.S. Attorneys Office in 1970. He became Interim U.S. Attorney in 1974 when his predecessor left because of illness.

Mr. Silbert was first nominated for the permanent position by President Nixon and later renominated by President Gerald Ford. He was finally confirmed by the Senate in October 1975 and served until 1979 when he left the office to enter private practice. He gained a national reputation for his white collar defense practice, representing, among others, former Attorney General Bell and Kenneth Lay, former chairman and CEO of Enron.

A flag was flown over the Department of Justice on September 15, 2022, in Mr. Silbert’s honor and will be presented to his family by NAFUSA member George Terwilliger at a memorial service to be held in October.