Ralph Romano, 73, retired administrative-law judge
He was a jokester, a man of the people, and a man of faith.
RALPH ROMANO had an impressive ability to mingle through the classes.
He could sit with his fellow judges and hash out the complexities of a case in the afternoon. And at night, he could crack a beer with ordinary joes and discuss the frustrations of his golf game. "That [bleepin'] little white ball," he'd say.
Even in his final days, he maintained the acerbic wit that served Romano so well in his days on the bench. He jokingly blamed a frequent adversary for the cancer that eventually took his life on Sunday. He was 73.
"He was a genuine, accepting man," said his daughter, Michele. "He was a man full of faith, family and friends. I will take the lessons I learned from him for the rest of my life."
Romano was born in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, and met Mary Ann Grange while a student at Fordham University. They married on Christmas Eve 1964 and were inseparable since. After earning his law degree from St. John's, Romano passed the bar in 1966. He cut his teeth by often going up against lawyers who were more experienced and better dressed.
"He always liked to tell stories about going into court wearing J.C. Penney suits," his son Ralph said. "And he'd win his cases."
Romano became an administrative-law judge in 1980 and settled in Philadelphia in 1986. He retired in 2013, and about the only time he left the area of 2nd and South streets was for a golf trip, a run to the Jersey Shore or to teach at Widener University's Intensive Trial Advocacy Program.
Marjilyn Packech's father, Joe, a longshoreman who grew up in Pennsport, became an unlikely friend of Romano's. They often golfed together, sipping beers and pondering life, until Joe died suddenly in 2013.
"Ralph told me that I could call him anytime for help with legal questions as I began the process of settling my father's estate," explained Marjilyn (pronounced Margie-Lynn). "He also told me that I could call him anytime for support or just to talk. Having someone who was well-versed with the law and who would be able to answer my questions and comfort me during this time was invaluable.
"Soon after my father's death, I learned that I was expecting a child - a little boy," she continued. "Ralph was one of the first people who I called to tell. He was convinced that my father was sending me a blessing down from heaven. And indeed, he was."
Despite his education, Romano was not immune from foibles. In the mid-1980s he took the kids out on his modest motorboat to watch Fourth of July fireworks. It wasn't until the spectacular show had ended that Romano realized that his little 22-foot boat didn't have running lights. Romano would always belly-laugh when retelling the story, even though it was a harrowing adventure to get back to shore in the pitch black of night.
His daughter Michele was going through some of her father's emails a few days ago. She wanted to see who among Romano's professional friends should be contacted. There was a note from a young lawyer whom the family had never met, thanking Romano for his assistance in kickstarting her career.
"Clerking at the [Office of Administrative Law Judges] provided me the ability to start my career and married life in a city I love, and to set up my future," wrote Jacki Miraglia Lembeck. "Everything I achieve afterward was made possible through you and your willingness to take a chance on me."
Miraglia Lembeck is now a lawyer based in Berwyn, Chester County, helping children and families with disabilities - a vocation she calls her "dream job."
"It is still amazing to me how generous he was," she said. "He treated me like he had known me for years."
Survivors include his wife, Mary Ann; daughter Michele; sons Ralph and Larry; and a grandson.
Services: A viewing will be held tomorrow at the Rogers Funeral Home, 1426 S. 3rd St., followed by a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. at St. Philip Neri Church, 218 Queen St. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the church.
