The Honorable Anthony C.
Joseph, known by family and friends as Tony, passed away peacefully in his
sleep at home on May 27, 2021 after suffering a debilitating brain injury in a
fall in September 2020. He was 84 years
old. He is survived by his wife Joyce
of 62 years, daughter Jennifer, son John, granddaughter Jazmine, and sister
Kate.
Tony’s life was filled with devotion to his family and a wide variety of talents and interests, including a love of the law, environmental causes, a collector, teacher, mentor, and mediator.
His very favorite extracurricular activity was spending time in the water, surfing and swimming in the ocean and pools. Over time he gained the title, “The Swimming Judge.” In recent years, he swam most days with the UCSD Masters swimming program, but was still occasionally called back to the open water to experience the waves and fish life beneath him. Over the years he swam the Alcatraz Shark fest swim numerous times, starting from Alcatraz Island and ending at Aquatic Park in San Francisco, and the Golden Gate swim. Local swims included the La Jolla Rough Water, Oceanside Pier, Newport Beach two mile Pier to Pier, and Coronado’s Fourth of July Rough Water. Probably his favorite swim (done twice over time, once in each direction) was being part of a relay team of six swimmers, “The Swell Guys Too,” all members of the La Jolla Swim Club, to swim across the Catalina Channel. In 2016 they set a new swimming record for men in their 70s when they swam from the California coast to Catalina Island in 14 hours flat, breaking the previous record of 16 hours, five minutes. It was reported at the time that the team was greeted by a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins, who took a brief break from their feeding frenzy to check out the victorious swimmers and their support vessels. The team expects their record to stand for some years to come.
Born in San Francisco, Tony grew up in West Los Angeles. He graduated from U.C. Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and received his law degree at Boalt Hall at the U.C. Berkeley Law School in 1961. After graduation, he served briefly as counsel to the California Assembly Finance and Insurance Committee in Sacramento.
In late 1962 he joined the
California Attorney General’s Los Angeles office, specializing in investment
fraud, anti-trust, business law and natural resource matters. He was the first president of the California
Association of Deputy Attorneys General in 1969. In 1973
he transferred to the Attorney General’s
San Diego office where he joined the Natural Resources section which, among other
things, represented the California Coastal Commission and the San Diego Coast
Regional Commission.
In 1979 Tony entered private
practice but shortly after was appointed to the Superior Court in San Diego
County. He was assigned to the Vista court
for four years, and later returned to Vista to serve a two year stint as
Supervising Judge. He was assigned to a
family law and motion calendar in downtown San Diego in 1983, becoming
Supervising Family Law Judge for two years.
He taught family law extensively at judicial colleges and as an adjunct
professor at the University of San Diego School of Law. In 1985 he was honored as the first Judicial
Officer of the Year to be selected by the Family Law Section of the California
State Bar. Other honors included the
Belva Lockwood Award from Lawyers Club of San Diego and the Madge Bradley Award
issued for North County Lawyers Club, both feminist bar organizations. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Del Mar Union School District when his two children attended the District.
After retiring from the bench in late 1999, he
joined the private alternative dispute resolution firm, ADR Services Inc. His services included acting as a neutral in
arbitrations, mediation and settlement conferences in all types of civil
proceedings,, including business, real estate, anti-trust, torts, malpractice,
family and trust matters.
There will be no formal
services. A private celebration of life
will be held this summer.
Donations: San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy or your
favorite environmental organization.
