Nicholas Cipriani, a longtime judge on Family Court

Nicholas A. Cipriani, 88, a Philadelphia Family Court judge who cared passionately about children, died of heart failure Tuesday at Cathedral Village in Andorra.

Judge Cipriani was elected to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 1969. He was assigned to the Family Court division, which handles juvenile and domestic-relations cases. Unlike many judges, who prefer to hear high-profile civil and felony cases, Judge Cipriani chose to stay in Family Court for the next 33 years.

"I like dealing with children and families," he told a reporter in 2002. "These people really need good judges. You are providing a service for children to have a chance in life."

He spent so much time at the court's building on the Parkway that he became a connoisseur of its stained-glass windows and murals by artists from the Works Progress Administration. He often gave informal tours of the 1941 building and explained that the art was designed to foster "an atmosphere of sympathy and understanding."

His favorite mural was of a grandparent taking over care of children - a scene he knew well from his seat in court. "Someone has to take charge when a parent can't," he told a reporter in 1999.

Judge Cipriani, a Republican, served a five-year term as an administrative judge of Family Court in the 1970s. He introduced new initiatives, including improving the process for the adoption of dependent children, and worked hard to keep political favoritism out of the court, said his son, Eugene. He served pastries at weekly staff meetings to encourage camaraderie, his son said.

Said Senior Common Pleas Court Judge Abram Frank Reynolds, a Democrat who worked on the Family Court with Judge Cipriani for 25 years: "I have lost my best friend, as have many others."

From the age of 70 until he was 83, Judge Cipriani was a senior judge. After he retired in 2003, he continued to serve the court as a master, hearing cases and making recommendations to judges. He stopped working after he fractured his spine in a fall in December 2006.

Judge Cipriani grew up in a close-knit family in South Philadelphia. His mother insisted he take typing at South Philadelphia High School. His skills led to a stenographer's job with a lawyer who gave him $2 a week and paid his tuition to Temple University's law school.

During World War II, he served in the Army in Arizona and Illinois. After his discharge, he practiced law in Philadelphia until his election to the bench.

In 1947, he married Catherine Campo. He and his wife raised two children in South Philadelphia and were active with the Sons of Italy in Philadelphia. She died in 2006.

In addition to his son, Judge Cipriani is survived by a daughter, Louise Luongo; two sisters; five grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

A Funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 815 Cathedral Rd., Philadelphia. Friends may call from 9 a.m. tomorrow and from 6 to 9 p.m. today. Burial will be in Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.