Robert E. Keeton, 88, judge, professor, author, war hero

US District Court Judge Robert E. Keeton was widely known for his sharp intellect, his high-profile cases, and his reputation for being, as one colleague put it, "a judge's judge."

A mastermind of Massachusetts' no-fault auto insurance law, a professor at Harvard Law School, and an author of books on insurance law, torts, and trial tactics, Judge Keeton was also something else -- a war hero.

Judge Keeton, 88, died yesterday at Mount Auburn Hospital, 63 years after surviving a torpedo blast in World War II. The cause of death was complications from a pulmonary embolism.

A Navy lieutenant aboard the escort aircraft carrier USS Liscome Bay, Judge Keeton was knocked unconscious into the Pacific Ocean when a Japanese submarine attacked on Nov. 24, 1943, US District Court Judge Michael Ponsor said yesterday.

Surrounded by fiery debris, Lieutenant Keeton watched bullets whiz by him until a sailor named Sacks pulled him from the water and set him down on a portion of the ship that was not sinking. Sacks went out to find more shipmates, and died.

Lieutenant Keeton clung to the boat and then later a life boat, but he thought the worst, Ponsor said.

"He talked about hanging to the side of the ship," Ponsor said. "He recalled thinking he had very little chance to escape. And he felt a great surge of sympathy for his wife and daughter because he was going to die."

The ordeal, which earned him a Purple Heart, drove him to succeed later in life, his daughter Katherine Carter , of Boston, said yesterday.

"He came from that generation where you don't talk about your inner feelings," she said. But "later in life he did reveal that [experience] may be why he went into the law, and why he wanted to teach."

Judge Keeton, of Cambridge, joined the Harvard faculty in 1953 and was appointed to the federal court in 1979. He remained on the bench until last year, when, at his retirement, he was the oldest person to have served on the body.

Chief US District Judge Mark L. Wolf described Judge Keeton as a "model of intellect" who graciously took the time to offer advice to lawyers and fellow judges about complex judicial issues.

"He taught many of his colleagues when they were students at Harvard," Wolf said. "He was the leading expert on torts. He literally wrote the book."

Judge Keeton was the first judge to throw out the perjury conviction of Boston police Officer Kenneth Conley, ruling that the government failed to turn over evidence at his 1998 trial. Conley, who had been found guilty of lying during an investigation into the 1995 beating of an officer by fellow officers, was vindicated in 2005 when another judge and an appeals court echoed Judge Keeton's findings.

Judge Keeton also presided over the 1989 conspiracy, mail fraud, and tax evasion trial of presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche Jr., which ended with a mistrial, and a 1993 copyright suit brought by Lotus Development Corp.

Judge Keeton was also remembered yesterday as a loving father with a keen sense of humor who enjoyed playing tennis doubles with his son.

"He liked a good joke," said his son Bill Keeton , of Kansas City. "He had lots of good stories about growing up poor in East Texas. He had some colorful relatives."

His daughter said he inspired her to leave healthcare and become a lawyer. Law was something they discussed enthusiastically during breakfast once a week. "He was overjoyed when he heard that I was switching careers," she said.

His longtime judicial assistant Lily Diblasi , who called him a "gentleman and a scholar," said he loved to weave stories during their weekly meetings. He particularly enjoyed telling about the time his mother-in-law came to his house and made biscuits.

"She went into the cabinet and she took out what she thought was flour," Diblasi said. "She made biscuits and put them on the table with all the other fixings. The judge took a bite and said, 'Mother, these biscuits are quite good but where did you find the flour to make them?' It turned out to be wall paper paste. . . But he graciously ate it."

In addition to his son and daughter, he leaves his wife, Elizabeth; a brother, Morris, of Columbia, Md.; and three grandsons.

The family is planning a private burial.