Everett M. Scherer, husband of the late Vera Scherer, died on November 7 at the age of 97. He was born in Newark, New Jersey on April 23, 1907 and was raised in that city where his father served as a fireman and where he graduated from Barringer High School. After graduating from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark with his LL.B. in 1926, he joined the Newark law firm of Child, Shipman & Plummer doing chancery work. The Child firm merged with Riker & Riker in 1935, which is the predecessor of Morristown's Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti LLP. Everett Scherer spent all of his private practice legal career as a name partner at Riker, and developed his reputation as one of the giants of New Jersey's legal community for over half a century.
With the onset of World War II, Everett Scherer left his law practice and joined the Army in 1942, serving as a Military Intelligence Officer attached to the War Department General Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. He oversaw and was intimately involved in some of the military's most highly secretive projects, including the Manhattan Project. When he left the service in 1946 as a Lieutenant Colonel, he returned to the Riker law firm, which changed its name to Riker, Marsh & Scherer in his honor. Everett Scherer practiced law as a senior partner of the firm until 1958, when he was appointed a New Jersey Superior Court Judge. He returned to the practice of law with the Riker firm in 1960, and continued an active litigation practice into the 1980's. He continued practicing and attended the office daily until October, 2004. Under his guidance, Riker Danzig became one of New Jersey's leading law firms growing from a firm of 15 to its current size of 170 attorneys.
During his distinguished legal career Mr. Scherer also served as a Director of Fidelity Union Bank and Trustee of Howard Savings Bank. From 1957 to 1958 he served as President of the Essex County Bar Association and as a Director of the New Jersey State Bar Association from 1968 to 1970. From 1957 to 1958 and again from 1960 to1980, he served as a member and the first president of the Essex County Park Commission, and played a major role in the creation of the Turtleback Zoo. He was a founding trustee of the College of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, serving from 1970 to 1998. He also served as a trustee of numerous hospitals and charities. Everett was a life-long member of The Rock Spring Club in West Orange and a member, as well as one of the founders of The Lake Mohawk Country Club. He was also a lifelong member of the First Baptist Peddie Memorial Church in Newark where he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for many years. In addition, Everett was a founding trustee and former chairman of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Ethics from 1963 to 1994.
He is survived by his sister in law, Ethel Scherer and nieces and nephews, Diane Scherer, June Stockman, Ruth Watkinson, Kathleen Reilly, Robert Scherer, Robert Wilson, Jean Knoch and Christopher Falcon.
A private family funeral and interment has been arranged with Bradley, Smith & Smith Funeral Home, 415 Morris Avenue, Springfield, NJ. The family will greet friends and others at a brief reception following the Memorial Service which will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 13, at First Baptist Peddie Memorial Church, 570 Broad Street, Newark, at the intersection with Central Avenue. Parking is available adjacent to the Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations in his memory be made to the Morris County Park Commission for use in connection with the Vera Scherer Memorial Garden. The Morris County Park Commission is located at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum on East Hanover Avenue in Morris Township.
