William T. Hart, a judge in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois for nearly 40 years, passed away peacefully at home on January 17, 2023. He was 93. A longtime resident of Aurora, Hart enjoyed his later years at The Clare in Chicago, where he lived with Catherine "Kay," his beloved wife of 68 years.

Hart was born in Joliet, the son of a newspaper publisher and a schoolteacher. He attended Loyola University Chicago and graduated the School of Law in 1951. As a member of the Illinois National Guard, he was called to serve with the U.S. Army in Korea on the staff of the judge advocate and received a bronze star for meritorious service.

After active duty, Hart began his career as a prosecutor, working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; a Special Assistant Attorney General of Illinois and a Special Assistant State's Attorney of Cook County. He entered private practice in 1956 and was a partner with Schiff, Hardin & Waite when President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the bench in April 1982.

Throughout his life, Hart generously supported numerous organizations. He was a committed volunteer, offering his time and treasure on the boards of Mercy Hospital and Rosary High School in Aurora and the Legal Assistance Foundation. He served at the Food Pantry in Aurora and worked with Catholic Charities in Chicago. He brought communion to the homebound at the Clare and to patients at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.

He was active in community life at the Clare, a regular in the Saturday morning walking group, a participant in the great books discussion group and a faithful attendee and helper at weekly Masses offered by Father Marshall. He treasured the many friends he made among the Clare residents.

Hart believed in living in the present, but he also had a fascination with the past, a trait which made him a natural for his role as court historian. He spent years researching his own family's origins long before the existence of Ancestry.com, traveling to churches and small-town libraries and comparing notes with newly discovered relatives.

Hart enjoyed an especially close relationship with his five daughters and 17 grandchildren which was strengthened each year with a trip to a wonderfully crowded Michigan beach house. He loved swimming, beach walks, reading and sipping 12-year-old scotch with his sons-in-law around the grill.

Throughout his life, Hart's intelligence, generosity and compassion were self-evident – as an attorney, a judge, a volunteer, a friend, a father, father-in-law, grandfather, great grandfather and as a spouse. Not a day passed when he didn't display love for those around him, especially for his wife who he described as his "most important case."

He is survived by his wife Catherine "Kay" (nee Motta); daughters Catherine Maher (Michael), Susan DaMario (Thomas), Julie Boesen (Peter), Sally Collins (James) and Nancy McLaughlin (Michael); grandchildren Matthew (Elizabeth), Sarah and Timothy Fornero; Thomas, Michael (Madeja) and Julia DaMario; Rebecca (Joseph), Emily (Ryan), William (Katherine) and Theodore Boesen; J. Wesley, Joseph, Adam and Jillian Collins; and Michael, Liam and Finian McLaughlin and eight great-grandchildren.

Family and friends will meet on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at Holy Name Cathedral, 735 North State Street, Chicago, Illinois 60654 for a 9:30 a.m. Visitation followed by a 10:30 a.m. Funeral Mass. Two-hour free parking is available at 14 W. Superior Street (between Dearborn Street and State Street). Please be sure to take a ticket and utilize any non-reserved parking space on Lower Level One (LL1) or Lower Level Two (LL2). Interment private.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, P.O. Box 7154, Carol Stream, Illinois 60197-7154, 312-655-7525, www.catholiccharities.net .

For further information please call 312-421-0936.