Of Mequon - Jonathan S. Safran died May 18, 2020 at the age of 62. Jon lived with a cancer diagnosis during the last five-and-a-half years, and he did so with grace and dignity, showing more concern for those around him than himself. He is survived by his beloved wife and best friend, Dawn; children Hannah and Ethan; brother Dan (Cindy); niece Samantha; and father Richard. Jon was preceded in death by his mother Lois (Vogel) Safran. He is also survived by cousins, community friends, and cherished Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity brothers. 

Jon was born in Glen Clove, New York. He spent much of his childhood in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he was an Eagle Scout and a high school valedictorian. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business with distinction at Indiana University Bloomington in 1980; there, he was also elected a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. He earned his Juris Doctor at the University’s Maurer School of Law in 1983. 

For more than 35 years, Jon helped thousands of people navigate personal injury and civil rights law in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin. He always strove for justice, especially for the disenfranchised and underserved. Through his practice, Samster Konkel & Safran, S.C., Jon settled numerous police civil rights cases and became one of the state’s leading experts on civil rights. 

In addition to his accomplished legal career, Jon was an active presence in his community. He was a former board member of the American Juvenile Arthritis Organization and YMCA Camp Mattawa; a Past President and Executive Board Member of the Mequon-Thiensville Chamber of Commerce; a volunteer on multiple Mequon-Thiensville School District committees; a fellow with the American Bar Foundation; a member of the Community Coalition for Quality Policing (CC4QP); and the 2017 Mequon-Thiensville Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.

Jon was also a lifelong camping enthusiast. This began in his childhood, when he camped across America’s famous national parks. He rekindled this interest in recent years and reveled in the idea of spending a long weekend at his family’s favorite campground, Wagon Trail, in Door County. 

Due to the current health crisis, his memorial service will be a private family affair. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Mequon-Thiensville Education Foundation.