Mary Katherine Baird Darmer ’86

Mary Kathy Baird Darmer of Newport Beach, Calif., died Feb. 17, 2012.

Kathy grew up in Waco, Texas, and attended Vanguard College Preparatory School. At Princeton, she roomed with Susie Bargon Thompson, Sandy Fitzpatrick Vitzthum, Sallie Kim, and Stephanie So. Kathy was president of the Princeton Debate Panel and won numerous awards in parliamentary debate. She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and Quadrangle Club.

A philosophy major, Kathy graduated magna cum laude. She earned a law degree from Columbia and later clerked for judges on the District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1991, Kathy joined Davis Polk & Wardwell as a litigation associate. She served as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 2000, she joined Chapman University’s School of Law faculty and was later promoted to professor.

Kathy was a founder and board member of the Orange County Equality Coalition, which advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights. At Chapman, she wrote and spoke publicly against torture and governmental abuses.

Kathy will be remembered for her humor, energy, intellect, and eloquence. An avid reader and runner, she ran the New York City Marathon several times.

She leaves her husband, Roman Ernest Darmer; children Lelia Jane (11) and Matthew Locke Darmer (8); her parents, Robert M. and Alice Baird; and mother-in-law, Marie Darmer.