Steven E. Chaykin, 57, died on Aug. 13, as he attempted to save his wife after she fell in the Roaring Fork River near Aspen, Colo.
Chaykin earned his bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate from the University of Miami in 1973 and 1976 respectively.
After graduating, he was the president of the University of Miami Citizens Board from 2007 to 2008 and ex-officio member of the University of Miami Board of Trustees.
“He was a caring, loving and generous man,” said Herena Souto, assistant director of the Citizens Board. “Not only to his friends and family, but to the university as well.”
Chaykin was currently a shareholder at the law firm of Akerman and Senterfitt, where he focused on white-collar criminal defense, government investigations and securities litigation.
His professional achievements include being named Best of the Bar by South Florida Business Journal in 2006 and being named as a member of Florida Trend’s Legal Elite from 2004 to 2006.
He is survived by his wife Melissa and 10-year-old-daugther daughter, Sydney.
To view Chaykin’s online guestbook, visit www.legacy.com/Herald/GB/GuestbookView.aspx?PersonId=114565462.