Frank J. Montemuro Jr., 86, former Pa. justice

Frank J. Montemuro Jr., 86, of Newtown, Bucks County, a former Pennsylvania Superior Court judge and Supreme Court justice, died of complications of Alzheimer's disease on Thursday, March 29, at Chandler Hall, an assisted-living facility in Newtown.

Gov. Robert Casey nominated him in September 1992 as an interim appointment to the Supreme Court after the death that year of Justice James T. McDermott.

Justice Montemuro was a month shy of his 67th birthday when appointed, and his term was cut short when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.

In a 1992 Inquirer interview, he called the interim appointment the "culmination of a long judicial career."

"Those are large shoes to fill," he said, "but I'll be doing my very, very best."

In a phone interview Thursday, son Frank III said Justice Montemuro retired as a senior judge on Superior Court six years ago, when he reached that court's mandatory retirement age, 80.

It was difficult to recall any one decision he was especially proud of, his son said, because "his career was so extensive."

But, his son noted, "what he was most proud of is his family."

A longtime resident of Bustleton in Northeast Philadelphia, Justice Montemuro had lived for the last 10 years in Newtown Township.

Born in Philadelphia, he served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946, including service with occupation forces in northern China after World War II.

After graduating from Temple University, he earned his law degree from Duke University in 1952.

According to Justice Montemuro's autobiography, Gov. William W. Scranton appointed him in 1964 to a 10-year term on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In 1968, he became an administrative judge in Family Court.

In 1975, he was elected to a second 10-year term, continuing as a Family Court judge.

In 1980, Gov. Dick Thornburgh appointed him to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

In 1992, Casey appointed him to the high court, and in 1994, he became a senior justice.

The Supreme Court appointed him in 2001 chairman of the Legislative Reappointment Commission.

Gov. Raymond P. Shafer had appointed him in 1969 the first chairman of the Philadelphia Regional Planning Council's law enforcement assistance administration.

In 1973, he was appointed to Gov. Milton Shapp's advisory committee on the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.

He served a four-year term as a member of the Pennsylvania Judicial Inquiry and Review Board.

For the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, he was chairman of its domestic relations committee from 1972 to 1974 and chairman of its juvenile court judges section in 1975-76.

He was a member of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

Justice Montemuro's accomplishments went beyond the bench.

In 1982, Pope John Paul II named him a knight commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.

In 1977, he was elected national president of the Supreme Lodge of the Order Sons of Italy in America and reelected in 1979.

In 1970, the president of Italy named him a Commendatore of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy and in 1996, he was named gran ufficiale of the Order of Merit.

Justice Montemuro was a member of the board of trustees of the Community College of Philadelphia and a board member of Catholic Charities for the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

He received a 1967 humanitarian award from the Justice Lodge of B'nai B'rith.

In 1973, Frankford High School gave him its Pioneer Award as an outstanding alumnus, and in 1974, he received the Philadelphia Bowl.

In 1976, the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare published his article The Family - One Hundred Years of Neglect.

In addition to his son Frank III, Justice Montemuro is survived by his wife, Margaret; sons Michael and Anthony; two sisters; and six grandchildren.

Viewings will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, April 1, at the Galzerano Funeral Home, 9304 Old Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia and from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, April 2, at St. Andrew Church, 81 Swamp Rd., Newtown, before an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass there. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park.