According to author Edward Epstein, Rankin was primarily an administrator and lent a guiding hand in shaping the investigation. The 14-man legal staff was divided into seven two-man teams, each of which handled a separate area of the investigation and contributed a chapter to the commission's final report. The staff lawyer whom Epstein credited with redrafting and editing the commission's voluminous report was Norman Redlich. After his work with the Warren Commission, Rankin practiced law in New York City until the 1970s, working seven years as the New York City Corporation Counsel (1966-1972). Later life Upon retirement, Rankin and his wife of 63 years Gertrude moved to Weston, Connecticut, where they had a summer home. In 1993, they relocated to Los Gatos, California. Rankin died on June 26, 1996 in Santa Cruz, California. He is interred at Santa Cruz Memorial Park in Santa Cruz. References External links United States Solicitor General Website The New York Times The United States Department of Justice: J. Lee Rankin Rankin archive at University of Nebraska-Schmid Law Library 1907 births 1996 deaths American Congregationalists United States Assistant Attorneys General for the Office of Legal Counsel Nebraska lawyers United States Solicitors General University of Nebraska College of Law alumni Eisenhower administration personnel Nebraska Republicans California Republicans Warren Commission counsel and staff 20th-century American lawyers People from Weston, Connecticut People from Hartington, Nebraska