After Public Service
Following his public service, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. as a partner in Wirtz & Gentry (1970–78), Wirtz & Lapointe (1979–), and Friedman & Wirtz (1984–1989). Named in 2000, the Wirtz Labor Library is the main library of the U.S. Department of Labor in the Frances Perkins Building in Washington, D.C.. The library contains 181,000 items, including the James Taylor collection (labor history), the Folio collection (trade union serials) and a 30,000 volume labor law collection. Wirtz wrote a memoir entitled "In the Rear View Mirror" which was published in 2008 by The Beloit College Press.
Wirtz died in an assisted living facility in Washington, D.C. on April 24, 2010. At the time of his death he was the oldest living former cabinet member and the last surviving member of the Kennedy administration cabinet.
Read more about this topic: W. Willard Wirtz
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