Harris Abram Gilbert Sr. passed away suddenly on Wednesday, February 15, 2023.
Born, raised and residing in Nashville nearly his entire life, he leaves a loving legacy of generosity, intellect and friendship.
As an attorney and community leader, Harris’ incredibly long list of accomplishments impacted numerous organizations and countless people. His true greatness though is found in his devotion to his family.
Harris is preceded in death by his parents, Judge Charles and Freda Gilbert, and by his wife of 41 years, Dianne D. Gilbert.
He is survived by his daughter Jennifer L. Gilbert, son-in-law John P. Ellersick, son Harris N. Gilbert, daughter-in-law Danielle M. Gilbert, grandchildren Joshua H. Gilbert and Sophia C. Gilbert, sister Pauline Gilbert Bader and brother Charles Gilbert, Jr.
Having met on a blind date, Dianne and Harris married in 1963 and started a family building a home on his childhood street. Their life together was full of dedication to their children, time with friends, endless travel adventures and community service.
An avid golfer, tennis player, cyclist, yogi, health nut, rose grower and ill-advised boat owner, Harris brought an indomitable spirit to every one of his passions. He encouraged all around him to take wonder in this world and pursue life with gusto and delight.
His purest joy was time with his grandchildren; creating treasure hunts, playing monster, going swimming or handing out Oreo cookies to everyone at every sporting event.
A graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago Law School, Harris returned to his home to practice law. After serving as Assistant District Attorney for Tennessee, Harris entered private practice primarily focusing on areas of probate and estate planning, business and real estate law. As managing partner of Gilbert and Milom he co-led the firm’s transition to Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.
As a young lawyer, Harris represented the City of Nashville as part of a bipartisan state-wide team of lawyers in the landmark case Baker v. Carr before the United States Supreme Court in 1962. He was involved in a number of high profile cases and clients, including helping the Rolling Stones out of a legal jam during a 1972 appearance in Nashville. The Baker case established the constitutional principle of “One Person, One Vote” and opened the door to malapportionment cases, across the country, ultimately resulting in restructuring of America’s federal, state and local legislative bodies.
Harris served as Board Member of the Nashville Bar Association and President of Tennessee Bar Association. He was an Instructor and Board Member of the Nashville School of Law as well as a former Chairman of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. Through law, Harris found immeasurable ways to serve his community’s most vulnerable and in need.
He founded the Uniform Reciprocal Child Support Program for Davidson County. He was a founder of Legal Services of Middle Tennessee. In 1995, the Tennessee Bar Association created The Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award given annually to a private sector attorney who has demonstrated dedication to the development and delivery of legal services to the poor and has performed significant pro bono work.
Dedicated to his Jewish faith, Harris was a lifelong member of The Temple Congregation Ohabai Shalom, serving as President and as a Board Member. He served many other charitable organizations and was awarded the Johnny Cash Americanism Award by the Anti-Defamation League.
In lieu of flowers, memorials gifts may be sent to the charity that best fits your memory of Harris.
The family will hold a private burial at The Temple Cemetery. Funeral services will be held at The Temple Ohabai Sholom, 5015 Harding Pike., Nashville, TN 37205, on Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 2:30 PM. A Zoom link will be available at https://thetemplehub.org. A visitation and reception will follow the memorial service.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.marshalldonnellycombs.com for the Gilbert family.
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