Matthew H. Harnett

Matthew H. Harnett, 54, a prominent Rutland attorney died Monday, November 19, 2012, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital.

He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., August 2, 1958, the son of Dr. Joseph and Sandra (Eisler) Harnett.

Matt was a graduate of Bayside High School and a graduate of Suny Brockport College and Vermont Law School.

Mr. Harnett interned for the late congressmen Ted Weiss of New York, as well as the South Royalton Legal Clinic.

He served as a Law Clerk for the Vermont Attorney General’s Office, 1982-1983 and the Rutland County Public Defenders Office, 1983-1984. He was admitted to the Vermont Bar Association April, 1984, and was a Rutland County Public Defender, 1984-1987. He started private practice in 1987. Mr. Harnett was an Adjunct Law Professor, Castleton State College since 1991. He also was a serious felony attorney for the State of Vermont and a frequent presenter of criminal defense and trial practice.

He was tennis pro for the Killington School of Tennis, and was an active member and well-loved ski coach for the Killington Ski Club and Killington Mountain School. He was an active golfer and member of the Rutland Country Club.

Surviving are his wife Lorraine (Markowski) Harnett of Rutland and daughter Cassie Harnett of Rutland; his father Dr. Joseph Harnett and his wife Elaine of Naples, FL, his mother Sandra Wohlberg and her husband Clifford of Somers, N.Y.; two sisters, Phoebe Burstein of Cross River, N.Y., and Gena Gallinger of Clifton Park, N.Y., two nephews, Max Burstein and Sam Gallinger and a niece Emily Gallinger.

A celebration of his life will be held Friday, November 23, 2012, at 12:00 p.m. at the Rutland Country Club.

Arrangements are under the direction of Clifford Funeral Home in Rutland.

Contributions may be made to the Foley Cancer Center, c/o Clifford Funeral Home, 2 Washington St., Rutland, VT 05701.