In the business of school boards, where personalities and politics are known to take precedence over logic, attorney Theodore Brooks was known as a calm counselor among clashing adversaries, a man who could on occasion melt icy rivals into laughs with his sense of humor.

Mr. Brooks, a real estate and education attorney who served local school boards for more than two decades, died Saturday of pancreatic cancer in his Mt. Lebanon home. He was 65.

A native of Moon, he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1969 and went on to work for Neighborhood Legal Services, a group that provided legal counsel for low-income people. His wife, Lynette, said he was never judgemental and had an ability to relate to all people, a quality that made him ideal for the job and popular among those he defended.

"He was always fair [and] wanted to make sure everybody, no matter where their station in life had taken them, everybody got a fair shot," she said. "That was where was he was comfortable and he knew that's where he could make a difference."

This quality later translated into making him a highly respected mediator and education attorney, where his ability to empathize with opposing groups and his reputation as an effective solicitor made him a popular adviser on school boards.

He started work with Tucker Arensberg, a Pittsburgh-based firm, in 1984, where he specialized in education and real estate law. He served as the solicitor for Shaler Area and South Fayette school districts for at least two decades and later served as the solicitor for Upper St. Clair School District, said close friend and colleague Gary Hunt.

"He just had universal respect for everybody he worked with and everybody who knew him," Mr. Hunt said. "Ted had this ability to talk to anybody and make them understand the advice he was giving was absolutely not politically motivated. Not everybody has that ability."

Bob Webb, who met Mr. Brooks after leaving his position as Allegheny County manager to join Tucker Arensberg, said it was his friendly demeanor and sense of humor that made him a distinguished mediator. In the board room, during tense negotiations, Mr. Brooks was able to put people at ease.

"Ted had an uncanny gift where he'd be able to come around and he'd have everyone smiling with him within a few minutes," he said.

And while working at Tucker Arensberg, he never lost his drive to protect society's most vulnerable. When his wife started work at the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, she told him that some of the battered women she served needed help getting protection from abuse orders from their partners. He immediately jumped in to help, getting additional training and providing pro bono legal counsel to several low-income women while working full-time.

An avid longtime Pirates fan, Mr. Brooks was an eternal optimist. During his first bout with pancreatic cancer four years ago, he inspired colleagues with what he called "hope and faith" messages, e-mails to update them on his battle with cancer, sometimes written with his trademark sense of humor, and always with the message that he was going to beat it.

"He was going through a tough time and he was battling for his life but he managed to stay in good humor, in very good spirits," said Mr. Hunt. "You'd see him going through that and it made you think any problems you think you might have, forget about it."

In addition to his wife, Mr. Brooks is survived by his daughter, Amanda Pittner of Olmstead, Ohio, and son Benjamin of Pittsburgh; and a brother, Daniel H.

Visitation will be today from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at Laughlin Memorial Chapel, 222 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon. A memorial service will be held at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Ave., at 10 a.m. tomorrow.