SEATTLE — Hearts are heavy this week at the law firm Perkins Coie in downtown Seattle. Colleagues are mourning the loss of Jerry Riedinger, the 69-year-old litigator and husband, father and grandfather who was found dead in the wreckage of a two-seat aerobatic plane Monday.
The plane Riedinger was flying out of Arlington Sunday evening lost connection with ground crews at 8,000 feet, and a search party of more than 200 people hit the trails near Snoqualmie Pass.
After he learned Riedinger was found dead in a wreckage, his coworker and fellow patent litigator Ramsey Al-Salam said he was shocked.
"I mean, you go through shock and then sort of disbelief," said Al-Salam. "We're all devastated."
Al-Salam showed KING 5 around Riedinger's office Monday and from the framed photos lining the walls, it immediately became clear what Riedinger valued above all else in his life.
"His wife and children, his practice of law and patent litigation and an aerobatic flying," as Al-Salam put it.
He added, "Boy, his face lit up when he talked about flying."
Aerobatic flying is when a pilot pulls off impressive maneuvers. Al-Salam said it was a passion he shared with his wife, Peggy Riedinger, who "would go to these competitions to be a judge at them" while he took to the skies.
Even though his life was cut short, Al-Salam said he lived life to the fullest, adding, "He was a great and selfless mentor to junior lawyers at the firm."
About 17 years ago, Riedinger was the first patent litigator at Perkins Coie in downtown Seattle. There are now 150 of them, including Al-Salam.
"He has made a lot of us better lawyers," Al-Salam said. "He is considered one of the best patent litigators in Seattle, in Washington and even on a national level."
On Sunday, it is believed he was on his way to compete in Ephrata when the plane he was flying crashed.
"Nobody wanted him to go this way. But he was doing what he loved," said Al-Salam.
He said Riedinger's friends and loved ones will continue to draw inspiration from him, even after death.
"He left a great imprint on the people who knew him," said Al-Salam.