A pillar of the local legal community also was a gentleman in every way.

One of the pillars of the local legal community and a longtime fixture in downtown Champaign died this week.

Lawrence "Bud" Hatch, who was 99, passed away Monday at the Meadowbrook Health Center in Urbana. A gracious, genial man with a good sense of humor, Hatch was a 1937 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and a legal practitioner for 74 years.

That kind of longevity is a qualification for legend status. But it was not just length of life that distinguished Hatch.

He was successful in the practice of law. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. He was active in the community, widely liked and respected.

But it was his cheerful persona and sense of independence that distinguished him, particularly in his later years. Quick with a quip, fast with a smile, friendly, Hatch was in every way a gentleman who set an example for others to follow.