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Obituary: Hon. Gerald Ragan |
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Hon. Gerald E. Ragan January 8, 1928 - September 1, 2008 After a
courageous year-long battle with pancreatic cancer, Gerald E. Ragan,
Judge of the Superior Court for San Mateo County (Ret.), died
peacefully at home in San Francisco, with his loving wife, Liz
Marshall, and daughter Kavana Ragan by his side. He is also survived by
three other children, Kathleen, Christopher and Sean Ragan. During
World War II, he served in the Navy, and often jokingly said he fought
in the Battle of New Orleans, after serving on submarine watch on Lake
Michigan, for which he was awarded the Victory Medal. As a Graduate
Civil Engineer from The Illinois Institute of Technology, he worked in
construction, during which time he attended Loyola School of Law in
Chicago and obtained his Juris Doctor Degree in 1959. He then came to
California and practiced law as a District Attorney in San Mateo County
and as a criminal defense attorney for ten years. In 1971, then
Governor Reagan appointed him to the Superior Court bench, where he
served with distinction for twenty years, after which he continued to
serve on the bench for seventeen more years in various Bay Area
counties. He also had the honor of serving two assignments on the Court
of Appeal and on The Judicial Council. His proudest moments were not
only in his professional accomplishments, but even more so in his
family life with wife and children, to whom he was devoted to the
extreme. He always believed that when the time came to 'cross over' his
spirit and wonderful memories would remain with them. Jerry crossed
over in a good frame of mind, remembering all of the exciting and
varied lives he lived, the great places he experienced in his extensive
travels and the love and warmth he received from family and friends. He
will miss them and they will miss him. Farewell until then. The family
asks that in lieu of flowers, any donations be made to the Hospice by
the Bay or to the
American Cancer Society. Green Street Mortuary will make arrangements for his cremation.
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