Cary Donham

Born in 1949, Cary Donham, the oldest of four children, grew up in small towns in downstate Illinois. His father was a school teacher and coach. His mother was a stay-at-home mom.

In 1956, his parents settled in the small town of New Baden, 30 miles east of St. Louis. Cary lettered in four sports his junior and senior years and was named the Student of the Year in 1967, his senior year. During his senior year, Cary received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Entering West Point at age 17, Cary survived the eight weeks of Beast Barracks and quickly excelled in academics. During his three years at West Point, Cary worked his way into the top ten percent of his class academically, despite the rigorous academic load.

After leaving West Point, Cary worked in a Greenwich Village Church, then moved back to Illinois where he finished his undergraduate degree and took graduate classes at Western Illinois University. In 1978, Cary moved to Chicago and after working as a professional musician for five years, he applied to law school. He attended law school at night while working full time, graduated fifth in his class, and was selected for and published in the Chicago Kent Law Review.

Cary clerked in federal court for two years after graduating from law school, then worked at and became a partner in the Chicago law firm of Shefsky & Froelich Ltd., until 2012, when it merged with the Midwest firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. At Shefsky, he started the firm’s employment practice. From 2008 to 2012 he served as Shefsky & Froelich’s general counsel and at Taft he served as a member of the firm’s ethics committee. During his 30-year career as a commercial litigator, he successfully represented the City of Chicago, the Chicago Fire Department, the Chicago Board of Education and the City of Chicago Laborer’s’ Pension Fund in cases involving constitutional issues and Freedom of Information Act issues.

He retired as a partner in 2020, and he and his wife of many years moved to Kentucky. Since moving to Paducah, Cary has become licensed as a Kentucky attorney, and has worked part time on employment and Open records Act issues.

Cary has performed musically as a solo act at the Foxbriar, the Johnson Bar and Paducah Beer Werks, and also performed with the bands Rooted in So.il and the Melungeon’s. Also, while in Paducah he has published his memoir, A Wrinkle in the Long Gray Line, which tells the story of his decision to apply for discharge from the Armey while a West Point cadet.