Herbert Colton, 90, Real-Estate Lawyer
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Herbert Spencer Colton, a retired Washington lawyer who specialized in housing and real-estate law, died on Monday at his home in Chevy Chase, Md. He would have turned 91 on Wednesday. The cause was heart failure, said Peter W. Segal, a longtime law partner. As an expert on the legal aspects of home building and financing, Mr. Colton counseled the National Association of Home Builders and similar groups throughout the country. He played a role in establishing Holiday Inns of America and Manor Care Inc., a holding company for nursing homes and lodges based in Silver Spring, Md., of which he was a president and vice chairman. Born in Covington, Ga., Mr. Colton was reared in Brooklyn and graduated from Cornell University and Cornell Law School. He practiced law in New York City for six years before moving to Washington in 1936 to become chief counsel to the rental-housing division of the newly created Federal Housing Administration. He helped to shape the division’s legal structure. He resigned in 1946 to go into private practice. From 1964 until his retirement in the late 1980’s, he was a senior partner in the Colton & Boykin firm in Washington. More : query.nytimes.com |