CITY'S PIONEER LAWYER, 84, DIES.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer PALMDALE - Ross Amspoker, Palmdale's first attorney and a longtime civic leader in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , died Friday after a four-month battle with cancer. He was 84. Amspoker opened his local practice in 1950, the first attorney to open a full-time office in Palmdale. In 1993, Amspoker was hired as a Superior Court referee, acting as a judge in civil cases. In 2002, he was one of four Antelope Valley referees who were laid off as part of a cost-cutting move by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Superior Court. He continued to work as a court referee - but for free - and then volunteered his time in court, hearing probate probate (prō`bāt), in law, the certification by a court that a will is valid. Probate, which is governed by various statutes in the several states of the United States, is required before the will can take effect. matters one or two days a week. In a surprise ceremony arranged by judges in March 2005, Amspoker was honored for his many years of service and leadership in Antelope Valley legal and civic affairs. ``We are here to honor Ross for his many years of valuable service. When he could've retired ... Ross has volunteered his time,'' supervising Antelope Valley Superior Court Judge Thomas White Thomas White can refer to:
Amspoker's public service included serving as president of the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce, trustee in the Palmdale School and Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. districts, and president of the Antelope Valley Bar Association. As an attorney in private practice, he handled probate, property, criminal cases and other matters. The son of an educator and one of six children, Amspoker worked his way through college as a gardener, elevator operator and postal telegraph operator until he received a degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley (body, education) University of California at Berkeley - (UCB) See also Berzerkley, BSD. http://berkeley.edu/. Note to British and Commonwealth readers: that's /berk'lee/, not /bark'lee/ as in British Received Pronunciation. in 1942 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa Phi Beta Kappa: see fraternity. Phi Beta Kappa Leading academic honour society in the U.S., which draws its membership from college and university students. The oldest Greek-letter society in the U.S. . After serving in the U.S. Air Army Corps and Signal Corps in Europe from 1943 to 1945 during World War II, Amspoker entered Boalt Hall, the law school at Berkeley, in 1946 and got his law degree three years later. He was admitted to the bar in 1950. Fresh out of law school, Amspoker was hunting for a job when he heard about a place called Palmdale that had no attorneys, Amspoker said in an interview with the Daily News in 1993. He visited the Antelope Valley after a law book publisher mentioned the growing area and he read a letter to his law school from the Palmdale Chamber of Commerce that talked of job opportunities. ``Palmdale at the time was at the end of a very dry cycle, it was brown, and there were only 1,500 people,'' Amspoker said. ``You can't compare San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and Berkeley to Palmdale in those days.'' Amspoker decided to open a law office in Palmdale and built a home in the Ana Verde Hills where he and his wife reared three sons ``who grew up with fresh air and no smog,'' he said. Amspoker is survived by his wife of 59 years, Beryl; three sons, Brien (and wife, Ellen), Mark (and wife, Polina) and Todd (and wife, Alice); and eight grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. . No funeral services are planned. Those wishing to contribute to his memory can make donations in his name to the Antelope Valley College Foundation. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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