David R. Brink

David Ryrie Brink (born July 28, 1919) is an American attorney from Minnesota and a former president of the American Bar Association.

Career

Born in Minneapolis, Brink was a specialist in estate planning. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Law School and joined the Minnesota law firm of Dorsey & Whitney.

While leading the ABA in 1981, Brink battled Congress in an attempt to secure the independence of the federal court system.

Personal

Brink's parents were mathematics professor Raymond W. Brink (1890–1973) and author Carol Ryrie Brink (1895–1981). They met as teenagers in Moscow, Idaho, in 1909 and were married nine years later. Married for 55 years, they had two children, David and Nora (Hunter).

Brink married Mary Helen Wangensteen (1925–2010) in 1950 and they had four children; Mary, Anne, David, and Sarah, and eight grandchildren. They later divorced, but were on good terms at the time of her death. His second wife, Irma Marie Lorentz Bong Brink, died in March 2008 at age 82.