Merle Silverstein, a prominent St. Louis trial lawyer and past president of Congregation Temple Israel, died Thursday, Oct. 2, at Missouri Baptist Medical Center in Town and Country. He was 86 and a resident of Clayton. Mr. Silverstein had successful open-heart surgery Aug. 19 but was diagnosed with acute leukemia the following month, his family said.

Merle Lloyd Silverstein was born July 29, 1928, in St. Louis, the youngest of three children of Louis and Elizabeth Brown Silverstein. He grew up on Washington Avenue in St. Louis. His father worked for Shell Oil Co. Mr. Silverstein graduated from Soldan High School at the age of 16. He enrolled at Washington University, originally intending to become an engineer, but a debate championship judge suggested that he study law instead. He graduated from Washington University School of Law in 1951 and served two years in the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps in Korea. He married the former Marcee Waldman in 1957.

Mr. Silverstein served as assistant prosecutor for St. Louis County from 1955-56. In 1956, he became a partner at what is now the Rosenblum Goldenhersh law firm in Clayton. He served as an adjunct professor at Washington University.

Among the many awards Mr. Silverstein received, he was honored for distinguished service by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. In 1999, Mr. Silverstein was among a group of St. Louis attorneys and judges who were honored by the Washington University School of Law for their service in the Trial Practices and Procedure program.

Mr. Silverstein served as president of Congregation Temple Israel from 1984 through 1987. In 1988, then Temple Israel president Karen L. Knopf presented Mr. Silverstein with the President’s Award for Continuing Service (PACE), in the second-ever presentation of the award in recognition of the many leadership positions in which he served the congregation. He had been a Temple Israel board member since 1963. He was also a former member of the board of trustees of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), the central body of Reform Judaism in North America.

Mr. Silverstein’s client list included several high-profile names, including Harry Ornest, former owner of the St. Louis Blues; former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa; and rock ‘n’ roll icon Chuck Berry. Mr. Silverstein was also known for his compassion for clients who could not afford his fee, and for his volunteer work for Legal Advocates for Abused Women, a program created by National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis Section.

Funeral services were held Sunday at Temple Israel, where Rabbi Mark Shook, Rabbi Amy Feder and Rabbi Michael Alper officiated. Burial was at Beth Hamedrosh Hagodol Cemetery in Ladue.

In addition to his wife, survivors include daughters Jill Silverstein of Clayton and Karen Silverstein of West Hartford, Conn.; a brother, Sanford Silverstein of Ladue and four grandchildren.

Contributions in Mr. Silverstein’s memory may be made to the Silverstein Fund for Jewish Education, c/o Temple Israel, 1 Alvan Rubin Drive, St. Louis, Mo. 63141.