John M. Elliott, fierce litigator, law firm founder, and Irish historian, dies at 79

John M. Elliott, 79, of Blue Bell, the founder of the Elliott Greenleaf law firm, a renowned litigator, and an Irish historian who relished his Schuylkill County coal-region roots, died Friday, March 12, of a heart attack at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health.

In his 55-year career, Mr. Elliott worked on some of the area’s most notable cases, sat on a dozen organizational boards, and dived headfirst into his Irish heritage. He helped Bob Casey, also of Irish descent, become governor of Pennsylvania in 1986, and was honored by Irish cardinals in 1995 and 2001 for his philanthropy in County Kildare and elsewhere in Ireland.

In 1979, he won a posthumous pardon from the state for Jack Kehoe, an Irish immigrant who was hanged for murder in 1878 during the brutal coal-mining labor conflicts in and around Mr. Elliott’s hometown of Girardville, Pa.

In 1996, he represented the family of Philadelphia’s Leonard Abramson, the founder of U.S. Healthcare, in a prominent and controversial privacy case against the TV show Inside Edition.

In 2002, he successfully represented Radnor’s Milton Riseman in an age-discrimination case against Advanta Corp. that resulted in one of the largest financial verdicts ever in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

In 2015, the Philadelphia-based Legal Intelligencer law journal gave Mr. Elliott a lifetime achievement award.

“He was a great communicator, from the judges to the pizza guy,” said his son John. “He never put on airs. He was a regular person who had the capacity to find time to reach people.”

Mr. Elliott worked at the Dilworth Paxson law firm for 20 years and cochaired its litigation department. He started his own firm in 1986. The family moved from Philadelphia to Flourtown when he started the firm and settled in Blue Bell in 1989.

He never retired and was making business calls on the day he died.

“He was a doer and wanted to be where the action was,” said his brother, Tom.

Born on July 8, 1941, Mr. Elliott was the great-grandson of an Irish immigrant who worked and died in a coal mine about 110 miles northwest of Philadelphia. He embraced his family’s legacy, became an ardent expert in Irish history, and supported St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, a leading seminary in County Kildare.

He was an Eagle Scout, graduated from Harrisburg Catholic High School, and was a top student and star baseball player at St. Vincent College in Latrobe. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1966 ranked best in his class in constitutional law and jurisprudence.

Over his career, Mr. Elliott handled cases ranging from Fortune 500 companies to individuals, and his friendship and support helped Casey become governor after three previous failed attempts. It was big news when he split from Dilworth Paxson in 1986, and one Daily News columnist likened it to a celebrity divorce.

He was, among other things, chairman of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and a commissioner on the Delaware River Port Authority. A frequent lecturer at bar association events, he had a command of context and details that helped define situations and inspire others to get things done.

Mr. Elliott married Jane Dalton in 1966, and they had four children. They divorced in 1986, and he married Eileen Slavin in 1991.

An avid reader, Mr. Elliott devoured history books. He was an energetic photographer and made shots he had taken at his grandchildren’s games available to anyone else in the picture.

He liked the tranquility of fishing, played softball and rough-touch football, and was a fan of John Wayne, the New York Yankees, and Notre Dame football.

“He always said the law wasn’t a job,” his son said. “It was a profession. He taught responsibility to give back.”

In addition to his son, brother, wife, and former wife, Mr. Elliott is survived by a daughter, Heather Elliott Hoover; other sons Kirwan and Kyle; stepson Thomas Hanusey; a sister; 14 grandchildren; and other relatives. A stepdaughter, Elizabeth Hanusey, died earlier.

.A funeral Mass was held Friday, March 19. Interment was at Annunciation Blessed Virgin Mary Church Cemetery in Shenandoah, Pa.

Donations in his name may be made to St. Vincent College, 300 Frasier Purchase Rd., Latrobe, Pa. 15650.