Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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Services Set for Saturday for Judge Richard B. Wolfe
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Services will be held Saturday for Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard B. Wolfe, who died Sunday at the age of 71.
Sources said Wolfe suffered from pancreatic cancer and had been absent from court for several months.
Wolfe was a native of Los Angeles and graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1957. He studied voice in high school and performed in United Service Organizations shows, and also played piano.
His daughter, Katherine Wolfe, said her father often used his singing skills to entertain his family. He attended UCLA, majoring in business administration and graduating in 1961 before starting law school, also at the Westwood campus.
He completed his law degree in 1964 and was an associate at Morgan, Wenzel, Lindbergh & Stern before moving on to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office in 1966. He left a year later to join the firm of prominent medical malpractice attorney with David M. Harney, an association that lasted until 1988.
Wolfe practiced on his own in Sherman Oaks from 1988 to 1996, then joined Grassini &Wrinkle in Woodland Hills in January 1997. But he left that firm in July of that year when then-Gov. Pete Wilson appointed him to the Superior Court.
He “truly loved his work and made his respect for the law and those around him apparent every day,” his daughter said.
He spent the bulk of his judicial career in Van Nuys, hearing civil cases. Wolfe “was a gentleman and a scholar,” Judge Mary Ann Murphy told the MetNews, and “a wonderful colleague.”
Survivors include his wife Patricia Wolfe, daughters Jennifer and Katherine, and seven grandchildren.
Saturday’s services will be held at noon in the small auditorium at The Church at Rocky Peak, 22601 Santa Susana Pass Road, Chatsworth 91311. The phone number there is (818) 709-0113.
The family said that donations in lieu of flowers may be made in the judge’s honor to The Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
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