Remembering Rosie
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William J. Leahy, Chief Counsel Rosemary Williams Hill joined the Roxbury Defenders Committee on March 27, 1978. Her immediate colleagues included Yolanda Acevedo, Antoinette DaGraca, Carlo Obligato and Bill Hill. Bill, who hired Rosie, recalls with a smile that "she kept coming back. She was determined to be a public defender. I had to hire her." This little anecdote is so Rosie. It illustrates what Yolanda calls her "indefatigable spirit": a pleasant but completely relentless persistence in pursuit of her goals. For clients, this meant having a lawyer who would not stop advocating until the question of guilt or the issue of sentencing had been successfully resolved. For prosecutors and judges, this meant time and aggravation. For colleagues, this was a source of inspiration. And for the lawyers she supervised, this meant be sure you have explored every angle, because Rosemary will ask! Occasionally, an intrepid public defender applicant will ask just what qualities we look for in a candidate. We tend to answer, with the merest hint of humor, that we really don’t require much; just intense ferocity and steel in full days of courtroom combat, then instant transformation into a nurturing, sensitive, supportive colleague as the office door swings open each afternoon. More than anyone I know, Rosie fulfilled this ideal. Her insistence upon achieving her intended result for her clients was immense: just ask the countless prosecutors and judges whose will she overcame by sheer persistence. This is the defender, understand, who tried a full jury trial, then reluctantly agreed to allow her colleague to stand in for the verdict while she went to the hospital to give birth to her baby! This is also the woman who fought a major New York City-to-Boston cocaine trafficking case through three jury trials in a six-week period, before the same exasperated judge and prosecutor, deadlocking the first two juries by arguing persuasively that the defendant had engaged in the extended transaction only under duress. Rosie was more than tough and smart enough to represent her clients very effectively, over a twenty-three year career as a public defender. But what truly distinguished Rosie were her unusually deep reservoirs of serenity, optimism, and tolerance. Rosie possessed a remarkably strong religious faith which afforded her not just a refuge from stress, but a seeming immunity to it. Her best friends describe her as always calm and peaceful, always inquiring as to your well being, always willing to listen to your worries and provide reassurance. Everyone should know that Rosie also contributed very positively and very significantly to the successful growth and maturation of this agency. During the difficult transition period of 1984-1985 in which RDC became, by the enactment of Chapter 211D, a unit of the public defender division of CPCS, Rosie set a daily example of professionalism and responsibility. A decade later, Rosie helped her colleagues learn how to deal positively with the challenges of our diverse workplace. By now a recognized leader in the agency, Rosie spoke eloquently of the importance of equality, tolerance and direct communication among colleagues. She was a teacher, to whom we all listened with attention and respect. Rosie. That’s what we all call her. This Harvard Law School scholar. This tenacious defender of the downtrodden. This devoted mother of four teenage children. This woman of such immense faith. This oasis of peace and serenity. This generous colleague. This selfless friend. This person of such high standards. Rosie. Possessing two surnames, but needing neither. Rosie died just one week ago, on May 18, 2001. Not once, during a long and physically debilitating illness, did she lose her awesome spirit or her generous nature. We can best honor Rosie, I think, by trying our best to follow her example. Throughout her professional life, Rosie made good organizations (RDC and CPCS) so much better. Let’s resolve to honor her memory by continuing on in her spirit. |
