March 25, 2011

A Mass of Christian Burial for Francis J. Conte, former dean of the University of Dayton School of Law, will be celebrated March 26 at Ascension Parish in Kettering. Conte, 68, died March 20.

A native of Salem, Mass. Conte obtained his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1964 and received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1969.

Conte began his legal career with the Office of Counsel at the Department of the Navy. Before coming to the University of Dayton, he also taught law at the University of Montana School of Law and Detroit College of Law, where he helped establish the Center for Canadian-U.S. Law.

Conte served as dean at the University of Dayton School of Law from 1987 to 2001. Recognizing Conte’s contributions, the Dayton Law Alumni Association named him an honorary alumnus for his outstanding service to the School of Law and also created the Francis J. Conte Special Service Award, which honors an individual’s extraordinary community service, as reflected in the school’s Catholic and Marianist values.

In 2001, he returned to the School of Law faculty, teaching courses in constitutional law, European Union law, immigration law process and policies and international law. During the 2008-09 school year, Conte taught at the University of Warsaw in Poland as a Fulbright scholar.

His wife, Kathleen McShane, and their children, Brendan, Clare, Ciaran and Fiona, survive him. Conte also is survived by his mother, Eleanor Conte; brother, Anthony Conte Jr.; and sisters, Joyce Hill and Cheryl Cropley. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Dayton at a later date.