OBITUARY

Retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge W. James Turpit died of

natural causes Wednesday at his home in Corona del Mar. He was 85.

Following a bid for election to the California Assembly in 1966, Judge

Turpit was appointed to the bench in 1967 by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan. He

retired in 1987 and began a seven-year affiliation with Judicial

Arbitration and Mediation Service in Santa Ana.

Raised in Hastings, Neb., Judge Turpit received degrees from Duke

University and the University of Nebraska School of Law, then served in

World War II as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, piloting patrol

planes in the Aleutian Islands.

Married for 57 years and the father of four children, Judge Turpit and

his late wife, Barbara, settled in Whittier in 1946. There, he practiced

law, first with the Hon. Edward J. Guirado and then with his firm of

Turpit, Thompson & Miller.

Judge Turpit and Barbara moved from Whittier to Corona del Mar in 1988.

He was an active leader of local civic and service organizations: a

vestryman of St. Matthias Episcopal Church; past president of Oralingua

School for Hearing Impaired; past president of both the Whittier Rotary

Club and Whittier Bar Assn.; past commander of American Legion Post 546;

and a member of the Whittier Masonic Lodge, Pasadena Scottish Rite, Al

Malaikah Shrine Club, San Gabriel Conclave and other Masonic

organizations.

Judge Turpit is survived by his four children, Lorrie Smith of Corona del

Mar, John Turpit of Coronado, Elizabeth Reynolds of New York City and

Bill Turpit of Costa Mesa; as well as four granddaughters.

A memorial service will take place at 3 p.m. today at St. Matthews

Traditional Episcopal Church, 1723 Westcliff Drive, Newport Beach.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Judge Turpit may be made to either

St. Matthews Church or to Oralingua School for Hearing Impaired, 7056 S.

Washington Ave., Whittier CA 90602.