Robert W. Page, a judge of N.J. Family Court

Robert W. Page, 71, of Pennsauken, a Family Court judge for New Jersey Superior Court, died of complications from cancer Saturday at his home.

Judge Page sat on the bench in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Camden County for 10 years before he was appointed to Superior Court in 1981.

Though his workload was heavier and his hours longer than for some judges assigned criminal and civil cases, his wife, Cora Reddicks Page, said he chose to stay in Family Court.

Judge Page, who had a reputation for compassion for young people in trouble, said in a 1989 interview, "You have a lot of frustrations and failure, but this is where the action is for personal satisfaction."

He insisted on getting parents involved with their children and supported family crisis intervention programs.

Early in his career, while he was an assistant U.S. attorney in Camden, Judge Page cofounded Contact-609, a crisis hotline, with the Rev. William McElwee.

McElwee, a Methodist minister, asked him to direct the training for the hotline, a 24-hour telephone and information and referral service in Camden County.

He first had to undergo the intensive training himself, McElwee said. "It taught him to be sensitive to others and to be a good listener," McElwee said.

The judge would later use these skills, McElwee said, to make wise court decisions.

Judge Page graduated from Merchantville High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., where he met his wife. He earned a law degree from Rutgers University in 1960 and a master's in law from the University of Virginia in 1992.

He wrote a manual for Family Court judges in New Jersey and spent two years on a report that was published in 1990. That document reviewed Family Court procedures in all 21 New Jersey counties. He taught courses at the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education and at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev. He was past chairman of the Camden County Youth Services Commission.

He was a diehard Phillies fan, his wife said, and attended spring training in Clearwater, Fla. He enjoyed travel abroad, and when their five children were growing up, she said, he organized month-long family camping trips.

In addition to his wife of 47 years, Judge Page is survived by daughters Barbara Carlson, Jeanne Page-Soncrant and Mary Susan Youn; sons Thomas and Robert S.; a brother; a sister; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Trinity United Methodist Church, 36 W. Maple Ave., Merchantville. Friends may call at 12:30 p.m.