death_place death_date birth_place birth_date known_for article_title name occupation
naples , florida november 9 , 2008 -lrb- aged 79 -rrb- chicago august 1929 helping c & nw enter powder river basin louis theophiel duerinck
 louis theophiel duerinck railroad executive
louis theophiel duerinck

louis theophiel duerinck -lrb- august 1929 -- november 9 , 2008 -rrb- was an executive with the chicago and north western transportation company -lrb- c&nw -rrb- .
he is best known for leading the lawsuit that allowed the railroad to access the powder river basin .
duerinck was born to belgian immigrants in chicago , grew up in riverside , and graduated from fenwick high school in 1947 .
he then went to the university of notre dame for just one year , and finished getting both his bachelor 's and law degrees from depaul university .
from 1952 to 1955 , duerinck was a lieutenant in the united states army judge advocate general 's corps stationed at fort sheridan .
in 1956 duerinck was hired as a commerce lawyer for the new york central railroad in chicago .
he served in the same capacity for the c&nw beginning in 1965 .
during the 1970s and 1980s , duerinck was senior vice president of law and real estate .
his most notable accomplishment was a 10-year litigation against the burlington northern railroad for trackage rights into the powder river basin .
duerinck retired in 1989 .
he moved to glen ellyn , illinois in 2007 and died in 2008 .
