On Aug. 19 I returned to Manhasset and learned that a great man had died.

Bill Geoghan was a much heralded and very successful trial lawyer, a highly regarded law school professor and a crusader for numerous social and community issues. The traits I will always remember, however, are Bill's consummate optimism and his love of life. He approached problems with logic and a sense of humor. It was Bill's belief that any (and I mean any) problem could be solved with the right approach, and he would then find that approach and solve the problem. Bill did not allow his illness to stop him. While undergoing chemotherapy, for example, Bill led a group of 20 volunteer Manhasset lawyers at St. Mary's in a Long Island-wide Catholic program to provide legal services to the economically disadvantaged. He made the local operation the model for the entire Island-wide program.

Bill's thoughts were always for others. When I last saw Bill, his illness savagely striking at him, we learned that a mutual friend had been taken ill. Immediately Bill's thought went out to our friend and he led his son and me in a meaningful prayer for her and her family.

I will sorely miss Bill's humor, his intelligence, his class, his counsel and his zest for life. The statement "Bill Geoghan is dead" strikes me as being an oxymoron-for everyone who knew him would say "Bill Geoghan is life." Death will not remove Bill Geoghan from my memory nor the memories of all who knew him. Simply put, Bill Geoghan was a great man.

Thomas J. Killeen