Frederick Dockweiler; City Pioneer’s Last Surviving Son

Frederick C. Dockweiler, 91, a longtime Los Angeles lawyer who was the last surviving child of city pioneer Isidore B. Dockweiler. Born in Los Angeles, Dockweiler attended Loyola High School and graduated from Stanford University and Georgetown

University’s law school. He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II. After the war, he joined his father’s civil law firm, which at one time included five Dockweiler sons. In the early 1950s, years before the Dodgers came to Los Angeles, Dockweiler was a key leader of opposition that blocked a federally funded public housing project in Chavez Ravine. He continued practicing law, principally handling historic legal documents of the J. Paul Getty family, until last year. Outside the office, he was involved in supporting Catholic charities and Catholic organizations throughout Southern California. Dockweiler’s father was a legendary presence in the history of the city and state. In 1943, he was successful in getting the state Legislature to pass a law to fly the Bear Flag on all public buildings along with the U.S. flag. He also was a member of the state parks commission. The Venice-Hyperion Beach State Park was renamed in his honor after his death in 1947. Several streets in the city also bear his name. Frederick Dockweiler, the last of Dockweiler’s 11 children, died on Aug. 1 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.