Janet Spragens' Funeral, On-Line Guestbook, and Washington Post Obituary

The funeral of our friend and colleague Janet Spragens takes place today at 10:30 a.m. at the Washington Hebrew Congregation, 3935 Macomb Street, NW, Washington, D.C.  The family will be receiving at Janet's house, beginning at 6 p.m.

Washington College of Law at American University has announced that the Federal Tax Clinic, which she founded and directed since 1990, will be renamed in her honor the Janet R. Spragens Federal Tax Clinic..

A guestbook has been added here where you may share your memories or express your condolences. This will be a meaningful keepsake for her family and friends. Contributions in memory of Professor Spragens may be made payable to the Washington College of Law. Please note in the memo portion of your check, "For the Janet R. Spragens Federal Tax Clinic."

The Washington Post's obituary is here; among the wonderful remembrances:

Since the clinic was founded, participation in it has been "standing-room only," said its supervising attorney, Nancy Abramowitz, referring both to students and clients. The program's success has spawned others at law schools across the nation.

As a student teacher during her year at Northwestern, she taught future Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), then a high school senior. In her memoir, "Living History," Clinton credits Ms. Spragens with urging her to broaden her horizons by leaving the Midwest and attending college in the East. Like Ms. Spragens, Clinton chose Wellesley.

During her third year of law school, Ms. Spragens served as a clerk to U.S. District Judge Oliver Gasch. She was an attorney with the appellate section of the Justice Department's tax division before joining the faculty of the Washington College of Law in 1973. At the time, she was the only female member of the full-time faculty.

Federal funding for the tax clinic, thanks to Ms. Spragens' efforts, came about almost accidentally. Testifying in 1997 before the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service, she was asked what could be done to alleviate tax problems confronting the working poor. "She said, somewhat offhandedly, just provide funds to create more clinics for the provision of services to this needy population across the country," Abramowitz noted. "The rest is history."