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Retired Superior Court Judge James Edson Dies at 72
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Services will be held July 16 in Long Beach for retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James W. Edson, who died Wednesday at age 72.
Edson, a Nebraska native who practiced in Long Beach for almost 30 years before being named to the Superior Court by then-Gov. George Deukmejian in 1989, served on the court for less than five years, taking a disability retirement in 1994.
He was president of the Long Beach Optimist Club in 1973 and twice served as president of the Long Beach Rescue Mission, in 1987 and 1990.
As an attorney, he argued successfully before the Supreme Court in Estate of Black (1982) 30 Cal.3d 880 that a holographic will written on a pre-printed stationer’s will form without witnesses should have been upheld.
Edson attended Long Beach Poly High School and Redlands University and spent two years as an officer in the U.S. Navy before earning his law degree at the University of Southern California Law School. A statement released by his family noted that he was an avid athlete who completed the San Diego marathon and many triathlon events and climbed to the highest points in many states.
He is survived by his wife, Judith Ware Edson; three daughters, Jennifer Escalas, Julia Edson, and Jessica Alfaro; a son, James W. Edson; and five grandchildren.
Services will be held on July 16 at 11 a.m. at Bethany Church, 2250 Clark Avenue, in Long Beach. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Assocaition or to the Bethany Church Building Fund.
Copyright 2004, Metropolitan News Company