A. Jay Cristol will long be remembered for a world of skills, a lifetime of experience, and a bank of knowledge.
Legendary judge. Lifelong pilot. Eagle Scout. Decorated Navy officer. Philanthropist. Bankruptcy expert. Accomplished historian. Three-decade adjunct professor. University of Miami B.A., J.D., Ph.D. And, most importantly, a loving husband, devoted father and grandfather.
Cristol was still maintaining a full calendar in his role as Chief Judge Emeritus of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, teaching bankruptcy at the School of Law, and flying planes every chance he got, well into his nineties, always dapper and sporting a perfectly groomed pencil-thin mustache.
"Judge Cristol graduated from the School of Law in 1958, but he was a perpetual student his whole life," said Andrew Dawson, vice dean and recipient of the endowed bankruptcy chair. "His love of learning led him to earn his Ph.D. in 1997, and that passion for lifelong learning made him a gifted teacher and a generous donor. Judge Cristol left an enduring legacy at the School of Law, endowing both the Eleanor R. and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic and the Judge A. Jay Cristol Chair in Bankruptcy Law. He will be dearly missed."
"A.J.," as he became known, came to Miami Beach in the 1930s, his family fleeing the disastrous impact of the Depression on rural Pennsylvania. His parents opened a tourist shop while Cristol attended Miami Beach High School and, at 15, surreptitiously took flying lessons "until my mother found out about it and grounded me," he said in a 2012 interview.
After the war, he returned to the University of Miami. He completed his undergraduate degree in philosophy in 1958 and his J.D. in 1959, although his service in the Navy would continue until his retirement with the rank of captain in 1988. He joined the Judge Advocate General's Corps and graduated with distinction from the Naval Justice School. He flew operational missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and volunteered for airlifts from Vietnam in the 1960s; lectured at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy, on assignment from the Department of Defense; and received more than a dozen decorations among them the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal.
He also practiced civil law. Early in his career, he was introduced by a client to the lovely Eleanor Rubin. On their first date at the Everglades Hotel, they found they had a lot in common: Both their families had moved to Miami Beach when they were children and attended Miami Beach High School. They married a year after meeting and celebrated with an elegant dinner at FunFare—she with pizza and he with a hot dog.
Eleanor Cristol had also attended U.M. and was the youngest female chartered public accountant in Florida at the time. She kept the books for her husband's law practice while raising their two boys, Stephen and David. She was active in the PTA and came up with the brilliant idea of renting out the parking lots at Beach High School during the annual Miami Beach Boat Show, providing the PTA with thousands of dollars a year. She founded Mount Sinai Medical Center and the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged, where she served on the Executive Board for many years.
Cristol served as Special Assistant Attorney General of Florida and, after 25 years of practice, stepped down as senior partner in a firm he founded to accept an appointment to the federal bench. At Miami Law, Cristol taught Reorganization in Bankruptcy, a seminar that studies principal issues raised by Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. He has also taught Law of War and served as the administrative officer for the summer Naval Reserve law courses.
Cristol earned a Ph.D. in 1997 from the University of Miami Graduate School of International Studies through his research of the Liberty Incident—an attack on the USS Liberty during the Six-Day War in 1967. His research led to a book about the incident, The Liberty Incident.
"Judge Cristol was the catalyst and driving force behind the law school creating a bankruptcy clinic which he later endowed in honor of himself and his wife Eleanor. Since 2003 the clinic has served hundreds of pro bono clients," said Patricia Redmond, a shareholder at Stearns, Weaver, Miller, Weissler, Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A., and director of the clinic. "In addition, Judge Cristol provided the opportunity for Miami to compete in the Duberstein Moot Court competition where the teams have been extremely successful!! As an adjunct professor for over 30 years, he has been an inspiration to thousands of students, and we already miss him tremendously."
Cristol died peacefully on the morning of October 21, 2024. He is preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor Cristol. He is survived by his sons, David and Stephen; his daughters-in-law, Cecilia and Violeta; and his grandchildren, Samantha, Rachel, and Daniel.
If you would like to make a gift in memory of Judge Cristol please consider a donation to the Eleanor R. Cristol and Judge A. Jay Cristol Bankruptcy Pro Bono Assistance Clinic.
