COURTS OFFICER HONORED FOR SERVICE ADMINISTRATOR HAS 40 YEARS ON JOB.

Byline: Howard Breuer Staff Writer

PASADENA - ``Nobody comes into this building happy unless they're getting married or adopting a baby,'' says one judge at the Pasadena courthouse.

The exception appears to be Gerald Kippen, 64, of Burbank, district administrator over 200 court employees at the Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Anita and Alhambra courthouses.

After 40 years as a county employee, the upbeat Kippen would take in more money by retiring and doing nothing.

Now he earns $102,000 a year plus about $11,000 in benefits, but if he retired his pension would be 100 percent of his pay with no deductions for benefit contributions.

But the R-word just isn't in Kippen's vocabulary.

His work ``is therapy,'' says the soft-spoken administrator. ``It keeps me going.''

Last week, John Clark, the executive officer for the county Superior Courts, gave service awards to Kippen and 31 other employees at the Pasadena courthouse with 10 or more years of service.

Kippen also received a marble obelisk from all of the judges at the courthouse.

Clark says Kippen is not only the Pasadena area's most senior court administrator, he's the longest-serving administrator in the entire county court system.

``He is an inspiration to those who have chosen public service as a way of life - including myself,'' Clark said.

He says he frequently taps Kippen to mentor new administrators.

``He's the professor emeritus on how to deal with the county and court operations,'' Clark said of Kippen, a Louisville, Ky., native.

Like some other court employees, Kippen started out ``figuring I'd stay here for a year or two.''

He worked as an entry clerk at the Register of Actions in downtown Los Angeles and passed the exam to become a courtroom clerk.

He considered becoming an attorney and took classes at the Southwestern University School of Law. But because of the demands of his job, ``I could never make it (to class) on time,'' and he dropped out.

Kippen rose through the ranks with a reputation as a public-service innovator.

It was under Kippen that Pasadena's Superior and Municipal courts streamlined and merged starting in 1994, creating a model that other county courts followed more recently.

``They were two separate cultures, and trying to bring them together took a lot of work,'' Kippen said. ``But now it's running so smoothly, it's wonderful.''

He has helped establish drug and domestic violence courts in Pasadena, as well as a program that allows traffic violators eligible for traffic school to phone the court instead of coming in.

He says he makes sure clerks who work with the public are helpful and courteous.

``We treat the public as they would like to be treated,'' Kippen said. ``I won't stand for rude people. I don't have rude people working for me.''

In the past six years, there have been only two public-counter complaints, said Pasadena Superior Court Judge Mary Thornton House, the northeast district's presiding judge.

``Jerry Kippen was worried about customer service before it was even an issue,'' House said.

Kippen considered retiring a few years ago, but his wife, Linda, got sick.

``I needed to stay busy,'' said Kippen, who has two teen-age sons.

Linda's death a year ago made retirement even less appealing.

``I need my work now,'' he said.