Mike Rainone was a passionate advocate for all of the many causes that he championed. He was an indefatigable civic and community leader, a champion of Italian American advancement and recognition, a lover of all things Italian, a tireless leader of the organized bar, a proud defender of freedom and justice and a devoted husband and father.
We feel so privileged to have known this extraordinary man who generously contributed his wisdom, his insight, his talent and his energies to a breathtaking array of causes.
Mike Rainone served as president of the National Italian American Bar Association, the Lawyer's Club of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and American Medical Relief of Italy. He also served as a board member of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association and the Justinian Society of Italian American lawyers. He was chair emeritus of the Cesari Baccaria Award Committee and the Justice Michael A. Musmanno Award Committee. In fact, Mike was instrumental in created those two awards to honor the memory of the great Italian legal scholar (Beccaria) and the revered Italian American Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Musmanno). Mike also saw to it that a bust of Beccaria was created and placed in the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center.
When Mike Rainone set out to accomplish something, nothing could stand in his way.
He was the attorney in three leading cases in Pennsylvania: Pinto vs. Pinto (domestic relations), Back Salary vs. Smith (worker's compensation) and Parker vs. Yellow Cab (personal injury). Michael Rainone was also virtually single-handedly responsible for changing the oath that lawyers take when they are admitted to the bar in Pennsylvania and he helped to locate the long-lost last will and testament of the "first Philadelphia lawyer" (Andrew Hamilton) and present it to the Philadelphia Bar Association.
Mike also served as counsel to many community, charitable and non-profit groups including the Commonwealth Lodge Foundation, the Ernest L. Biagi Scholarship Foundation, the Italian Folk Art Federation, the Piccolo Opera Company and the Dante School Committee.
He also chaired the Philadelphia Bar Foundation's Andrew Hamilton Ball and the Philadelphia Bar Association's Bench-Bar Conference and he served as Secretary of the Philadelphia Bar Association and as a member of its Board of Governors.
Mike was the international president of the Orphans of Italy, Inc., the regional vice-president of the National Italian American Foundation, the president of the Columbus Day Committee of Pennsylvania and a board member of the Chapel of the Four Chaplains in Philadelphia. He was a founder and president of two lodges of the Order Sons of Italy in America and a board member of the Philadelphia Opera Company.
Michael Rainone counted his recognition by the Republic of Italy among his most prized honors and his proudest achievements. To recognize his charitable endeavors and his deep and abiding commitment to his ancestral home, he was decorated by the President of Italy first with the title of Cavalier and later with the higher rank of Commander.
In 2003 at the age of 85 Mike was commended by the Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association who said: "We are proud to count you as a former officer, a former board member of the Philadelphia Bar Association and a treasured member of our professional family. Your contributions to the Bar Association and so many other civic, fraternal and community organizations are a testament to your passionate commitment and boundless energy. We are happy that you continue to remain active and give of yourself to lead and encourage others in so many positive ways."
In 2006 he received the Cesare Beccaria Award and in 2011 he was inducted into the Philadelphia Bar Association's 65 Year Club, recognizing his 65 years as a member of the legal profession.
He was also president of the Sea View Harbor Civic Association, the Nationalities Services Center and was instrumental in events surrounding the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America in 1994. He was a driving force behind the renaming of Philadelphia's Front Street to Columbus Boulevard and the erection of the Columbus Memorial along the Delaware River at Penn's Landing. Appropriately, he was listed in Marquis Who's Who in American Law.
Mike did nothing in an inconsequential way. He conducted his life on a grand stage and demanded as much of himself as he did of others. He dreamed no small dreams and he brought to every task the wherewithal to make big things happen.
But he also acted quietly and behind the scenes when it was necessary. He helped and counseled many young Italian Americans -- nurturing them, encouraging them, urging them onward and dutifully following their progress. I know. I was one of them.
Mike's kindness and his sweet, affirming love of life expressed itself in countless ways.
Until the very end Mike kept pushing, challenging, always seeking to make a positive difference. In Binghamton, he reached out to young people by speaking to school groups and local organizations, sharing his wisdom and life experiences. Most recently he was honored by the St. James School in Binghamton with the establishment of the Michael C. Rainone Award for Excellence in Scholarship. Such was his commitment to civic action that even as a nonagenarian, he simply would not quit.
Oliver Wendall Holmes said that "a man must share in the action and the passion of his times at the cost of being judged not to have lived."
There is no doubt that Mike Rainone shared in all of that and more -- and no one will ever, ever judge him "not to have lived".
Michael Rainone is survived by his wife, Ledena; his son, Sebastian; his daughter, Francine; his grandson, Christopher; his granddaughter, Alexandra; his great-granddaughter, Seraphina Lillian and his sister, Connie.
A viewing will be held Friday, October 19 (tomorrow) from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Baldi Funeral home 1327 South Broad Street, Phila, Pa. 19147 (215 389 2414). The funeral mass will be on Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 10:00 am at Saint Nicholas Church (the church where Michael and Ledena were married) 1718 South 9th Street, Phila, Pa 19148.
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