The life, career, and legacy of the Hon. Irad Ingraham will be celebrated at the Chenango County Courthouse at 11 a.m. on Friday, October 7. The public is invited to attend, and are asked to RSVP with Laura Parker at lparker@nycourts.gov. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — The local legal community will be gathering at the Chenango County Courthouse at 11 a.m. on Friday, October 7 to celebrate the life, career, and legacy of the late Hon. Irad Ingraham, who passed suddenly on July 16, and have invited the community to attend.

He was a longtime judge and respected member of the Chenango County community, with a remarkable career spanning decades.

In 1970, he was elected as the Chenango County District Attorney. Then he was elected as Chenango County Court Judge in 1975, before being elected to the New York State Supreme Court, Sixth Judicial District in 1984.

In attendance will be several members of Ingraham's family, friends, and colleagues.

Elizabeth Garry, 16th Presiding Justice of the Third Department of the Appellate Division, will be leading the ceremony, followed by four speakers: retired Chenango County Court Judge Howard Sullivan, Supreme Court Justice Joseph McBride, Chenango County Judge Frank Revoir, and retired Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dowd.

Community members are asked to RSVP to Laura Parker at lparker@nycourts.gov.

Ingraham has left a significant impact on those around him, including Garry, who got her start in the law field as his court clerk.

"I have always been so happy and fortunate that I began my career working with Judge Ingraham, because he was everything we would hope a judge might be, in every sense of the word. The man was a great man, and a truly great judge," said Garry. "The fact that he would take a young lawyer, me and four others, under his wing and allow us to work and learn with him was just one other example of his generosity of spirit, his compassion, his fundamental kindness, and his principles. He was all that."

"I have been inspired by this man throughout my entire career, and literally working with him was the first job in the law that I was ever so lucky to have," she continued. "The work that he did and that we do is hard. It’s tremendously challenging, and so to do it well takes character, and that’s the essential thing. He just had this remarkably strong character and commitment to principles and ideals, and so he made that happen in his life. That was such a shining example to a brand new lawyer."

Karen Kamsoke, who worked as Ingraham's secretary for 17 years while he served on the supreme court, echoed Garry's sentiments, remembering the easygoing and kind man she spent so many years working with.

"He did not take himself too seriously, and he just was always there. I remember one time I fell and broke my arm and next thing I know, he must've gone home and baked a pie, and he brought a pie down," said Kamsoke. "You could talk to him too, if there were things going on that you didn't understand, as a secretary to him. He always had time to talk with you and have patience with you. He was just easygoing."

Ingraham's ideals are reflected in his wife, Jan Ingraham, and their three children. According to Garry, "The entire family is deeply committed to public service ... I know each of them participated in the fabric of the community to a great degree."

"He and his wife are just both really a remarkable couple," she continued. "She’s just one of the most gracious, lovely people I’ve ever known. Like her husband, just kind, gracious, compassionate. The Ingrahams have left a very strong legacy."

In addition to his career in law, Ingraham is also known as a talented artist. He specialized in portraits, and has painted several local judges over the years.

"He painted Judge Sullivan, Judge Dowd, Judge Downey, and several others," said Chenango County Bar Association President Laura Parker. "Specifically here in Chenango County he’s painted three of our portraits. I think that’s pretty significant because those are going to be hanging in our courthouse forever."

"He built this sort of amazing career in the law. To take one of the highest positions that we have and to serve as a justice of the supreme court is really quite a distinction. And he finishes that, and then he embarks on career number two," said Garry. "He kept learning and growing, and developing new opportunities."

The Hon. Irad Ingraham is remembered by those he impacted as an integral part of their lives, and the community at large, and they will honor that legacy at Friday's memorial.

"He had an extensive career that had an impact in our community," said Parker.

"Try to find someone who’s personally inspiring to you to work with, because it matters," said Garry. "It’s something that has sustained me throughout my entire career. I will miss him terribly."