Michael Ross Lemov

He wanted to leave his mark on the world and make it a better place. And he did. As General Counsel to various Congressional subcommittees in the 1970s he wrote legislation to set up the Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as laws requiring safer cars and more protections for drivers and passengers. In private practice he served on consumer advocacy boards and continued to work on consumer issues.

Raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, he was inspired by his father, Irving Lemov, to a seek life of public service. He attended Stuyvesant High School in New York City, Colgate University and the Harvard Law School. He profiled the work of his mentor John Moss and the Fight for Freedom of Information and Consumer Rights (2011) and told the story of the long struggle to improve auto safety in Car Safety Wars: One Hundred Years of Technology, Politics, and Death (2015).

His energy and variety and vitality spilled over into his love of sports. He played soccer into his 50s, biked across France and Italy in his 60s, played tennis into his 70s and continued a vital life of travel well into his 80s. He was a generous and supportive husband, engaged and proud father and loving and enthusiastic grandfather. His warmth, kindness and keen intelligence are remembered by his wife Penelope, his two children, Rebecca and Douglas, by his daughter-in-law Lisa, and son-in-law Palo, and by his four grandchildren, Caden, Ivy, Maia and Willa and by his cousin Robert Steinman.

A Celebration of Life for Michael will be held Saturday, May 11, 2024 at 11:30 AM at Joseph Gawler's Sons, LLC, 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016. A reception will follow from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM.