Longtime UGA Law Professor John Bartow Rees, Jr. died peacefully early on Wednesday, September 26th, after a long illness. He and his wife, Elinor Myers Rees, came to Athens as newlyweds in 1959 and raised their family here.
Dr. Rees was born in Brooklyn Heights, NY on March 27, 1931. He grew up in Westport, Connecticut, and then attended Hobart College and the University of Virginia Law School.
In the course of his 45 years at the University of Georgia, Dr. Rees won several awards for his excellence as an educator, including the 1997 Distinguished Service Scroll Award from the UGA Law School Association.
Dr. Rees came to the University of Georgia after teaching for a short while at UVA and for many years specialized in Conflict of Laws, Federal Courts, and Civil Procedure. He was also instrumental in the law library renovation in the 1960’s, when he served as Associate Dean.
In service to the Athens community, Dr. Rees helped St. Joseph School weather a period of crisis in the late 1960’s by helping devise an investment plan to stabilize finances for the parochial school.
In his spare time Dr. Rees enjoyed reading, furniture-making, photography, and collecting woodworking planes and rare-edition books. His children fondly remember his dry sense of humor and his strong sense of fairness.
In addition to his wife, Elinor, Dr. Rees is survived by: his brothers, James and Christopher Rees; five children, John, Mary, Jenifer, David, and Richard; and four grandchildren, Sara and Jack Rees and Joseph and Elinor Rees-Hill.
Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 28th, with visitation starting at 2:00 p.m., at the Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, West Chapel, 1211 Jimmy Daniel Rd., Bogart, GA. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the University of Georgia, John B. Rees, Jr. Law Library Book Fund.
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