John Mark Stanton
September 23, 1933 – February 26, 2013
Former Judge John Stanton passed away in Seattle, Washington on February 26, 2013 after a two month recovery effort at University Washington Medical Center. While he loved Bakersfield, Kern County, where he was born and Tehachapi, California where he lived for 21 years, he also loved his retirement home in the northwest. He especially loved his walks at the Port Townsend ferry dock where he enjoyed the eagles, the hawks, the deer and even the seagulls.
His family came from Bakersfield and Oklahoma before that. He was proud to graduate from East Bakersfield High School where he excelled as a swimmer. During high school, he was named the San Joaquin Valley high point Individual Swimming Champion, and during one semester at Bakerfield Community College, he was named one of the top 1 0 swimmers in America. John went on to graduate from UC Berkeley where he played water polo. He graduated from Hastings Law School in 1959. During law school he supported himself as a fireman for the railroads, firing the last of the steam engines.
Admitted to the bar, on January 6, 1960, he remembered his wedding date by marrying Millicent Benadik, on January 6, 1962. He started a worthy legal career which embraced several aspects of the legal profession. He spent many years with Kern County Counsel’s Office as advisor to the Board of Supervisors and finishing as Chief Litigator for that office. From 1975 to 1984 he served as a judge establishing the East Kern Municipal Court system. Prior to this he served all over California as a circuit court judge. Known as a fair and firm person, he strove to run a local court that was efficient and promoted a friendly atmosphere among the opposing legal counsels. His special concern was to bring fair justice to the communities he served and to the young people where he raised his own sons for 21 years.
John’s family was extremely important to him. He leaves his loving wife, Millicent of 51 years, his two cherished sons, Andrew and Ian, Andrew’s wife, Tahl Tyson, and his granddaughters, Abra and Lily Stanton. He also had a special bond with his surviving brother, Jack L. Stanton and wife, Joyce, joining them to retire in the Northwest on Whidbey Island in 1994.
Milli and John made annual trips back to California to visit son, Ian, and nieces, Maureen Buscher-Dang, Claudia Key, Allene Krizo, Michael, Mark and Eric Buscher, Jeffrey and Tim Stanton and sister-in- law Margaret Dye. Colleagues and friends were valued highly and he continued friendships with visits and more frequent emails. Judge Stanton had a great appreciation for his staff at the Mojave and Tehachapi courts. He was a quiet unassuming man, full of stories and expressions of old Kern Co. history. He especially enjoyed children and young people, animals and nature as well as science and history. Flying his private plane brought him many hours of relaxation and happiness. He also enjoyed many years of bridge in the Admiral’s Cove bridge group. John worked in the legal community with a mission to serve the public, to promote respect for our laws and courts, and gave his best in difficult cases with integrity and fairness. The value of education was one of John’s highest priorities. Those who wish to make donations may consider UC Berkeley John Stanton scholarship, or Hastings Law School. He also favored the work of the Southern Poverty Law Center to bring justice to those in need and the work of the Legal Advocacy Fund of American Association of University Women.
Family and friends are invited to a memorial gathering to honor his life at Trinity Lutheran Church on Saturday, June 1 at 1:30 P.M. in the Fireside Room
