Maurice C. Sherrill |
| Posted 2009-07-18 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California Thursday, May 13, 1999 Maurice C. Sherrill, 76; noted attorney in water rights cases. Riverside attorney Maurice C. Sherrill, who advised regional water agencies for more than 30 years and was involved in landmark Western water rights cases, has died. He died May 2 at his Prescott, Ariz., home of complications of a stroke. He was 76. For decades, Mr. Sherrill was legal counsel for the Eastern Municipal Water District in central and southwest Riverside County and the Coachella Valley Water District. He helped represent the Coachella Valley district in two trials involving Colorado River water rights, said Justin McCarthy, an attorney with Redwine & Sherrill who worked with Mr. Sherrill since 1960. The U.S. Supreme Court named a special master to hear the arguments and report back to the high court. The late Earl Redwine was immersed in the water rights case when he and Mr. Sherrill became law partners in Riverside in the early 1950s. Mr. Sherrill also was involved in water rights cases involving Chino Valley, Mojave and the Santa Ana river. "He was a very solid source of information on all water-related matters, just a logical, conservative analyst," said Gerald Shoaf, a Redwine & Sherrill attorney who now represents the Eastern and Coachella Valley districts. Mr. Sherrill also was legislative committee vice chairman of the Association of California Water Agencies for many years. Lowell Weeks, the Coachella Valley district's general manager for 30 years, recalled how attending water conferences with the lawyer meant side trips to explore the outdoors or Indian reservations. Mr. Sherrill read extensively about Indians and the Southwest and collected kachina dolls. The Troutman, N. C., native lived in Riverside 65 years. He retired in 1990 and split his time between San Clemente and Prescott. He received a law degree and a bachelor's degree in business administration, both from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Mr. Sherrill was an FBI special agent briefly, then became deputy Riverside County counsel in 1951 and part-time county public defender from 1952 to 1956. He traveled abroad 22 times, played golf and enjoyed trap shooting. Services will be private. Arizona Ruffner Wakelin Funeral Home in Prescott is handling arrangements. He is survived by a daughter, Michelle, of Prescott; two sons, Mark of Benicia and Bradley of San Clemente; and a half-brother, Fred, of Seattle. The family suggests memorial contributions to a charity of the donor's choice. |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?