The amazing story of J. Emery Barker

By MICHAEL BROWN
Managing Editor
 
The missing link in the story of how journalist and playwright Sophie Treadwell’s production rights came to the Diocese of Tucson was restored when attorney J. Emery Barker called the Catholic Outlook Feb. 5.

Barker, 84, an attorney at Tucson’s Mesch, Clark and Rothschild law firm, recalled helping Treadwell find the right party to serve as the caretaker of her works.

“She was trying to figure out who should have the copyright for her plays,” he said.

Treadwell had designated Betty Gegenheimer, wife of the head of the Albert F. Gegenheimer, chairman of the University of Arizona’s English department, as executrix of her estate. The U of A had been designated as the repository for all her works, a very sizeable collection, and Treadwell wanted to spread her wealth around.

She told Barker she wanted the royalties from her plays to benefit Native American children. How did Treadwell, who followed no particular religion, work with Barker, a Lutheran, and ended up sending it to the Catholic diocese?

Barker said that about four decades ago, he was approached by a religious community engaged in a dispute with the bishop of Tucson. The community’s first attorney was Catholic and advised the sisters to simply follow the bishop’s order. The community’s leader was so upset, she called people she knew to recommend a non-Catholic lawyer, Barker recalled. He stepped in, negotiated a settlement and has remained their attorney ever since.

His work apparently agreed with both the religious community and the Diocese. Barker subsequently handled other legal matters for the Diocese and the Catholic Foundation. Also, former Lutheran pastor and convert to Catholicism Father Greg Adolf baptized some of Barker’s children before Father Adolf became a Catholic priest.

From those relationships, Barker said, he knew the church worked closely on the reservations with Native American children. When he approached Treadwell with this option as a possible beneficiary of her copyrights, she didn’t need convincing.

“She was a world traveler and she thought the Catholic Mass was beautiful,” Barker said. She also knew the church was always helping the poor.

Another advantage to choosing the Diocese, Barker said, was that “it wasn’t going anywhere.” Groups dissolve and individuals die, which might lead to a later dispute over the royalties. “I just told her that I didn’t think the Diocese of Tucson was going anywhere.”