Stuart D. Buchalter

Stuart D. Buchalter, a prominent Los Angeles corporate and securities attorney and philanthropist, died Jan. 7 at the age of 66.

Buchalter, of Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger, mentored numerous attorneys and was a dedicated teacher of the law to all around him.

A Los Angeles native, Buchalter received a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and attended Harvard Law School. He served on the boards of directors for numerous public and privately held corporations, including City National Corp. and the Warnaco Group. Buchalter served as chairman of the board and CEO of Standard Brands Paint Company in Torrance from 1980 to 1993 and served as chair and CEO of The Art Stores.

Active in community affairs, Buchalter served as president of the Jewish Community Foundation from 1993 to 1996. He was also a past member of the Los Angeles City Fire and Police Pension Commission and director of the Constitutional Rights Foundation. A patron of the arts who amassed an expansive contemporary art collection, Buchalter served as a member of the Los Angeles Area County Museum of Art and as chair of the board of trustees of the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.

Buchalter is survived by his wife, Gail; children, Stephanie, Michael, Douglas and Melissa; grandchildren, Amanda and Erin; and sister, Susan (Burton) Sunkin.

The family requests that donations, in lieu of flowers, be sent to the Gail and Stuart Buchalter Library Endowment Fund for Contemporary Art at UC Berkeley, the Otis College of Art and Design or the Jewish Community Foundation.