F.C. Whelan, 83; Ex-Judge, U.S. Attorney

Francis C. Whelan, a senior U.S. District Court judge and former U.S. attorney for Southern California, has died at age 83.

His death on Thursday at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert was announced late Friday by Chief Judge Manuel L. Real of the U.S. Central District Court, based in Los Angeles.

Whelan, whose judicial philosophy was simply “a case is a case, and you decide it the way you think it should be,” had officially retired from the court in 1978. But, until his death, he continued to handle a reduced caseload through his appointment as a senior judge.

Born Dec. 11, 1907, in O’Neill, Neb., Whelan moved to the San Diego area with his family, and attended San Diego State and Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley.

He practiced law briefly with his father and two brothers in San Diego, but in 1935 became assistant U.S. attorney for Southern California.

In 1939, he moved to Washington for nine years as a special assistant to the attorney general, handling eminent domain proceedings to obtain land for government installations during and after World War II. Whelan acquired the land for such institutions as Edwards Air Force Base, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Long Beach Naval Hospital.

The experience made him want to become a federal judge. He re-entered private practice in Los Angeles in 1948 and, seeking visibility that would help him get an appointment to the federal bench, won appointment as the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles in 1961.

The highlight of his three years in that position, Whelan once insisted in an interview, was lunch. He had so much work to do that lunch every day meant only cottage cheese and Jello at his desk.

“I’m highly honored,” Whelan told The Times in 1964 when President Lyndon B. Johnson named him to the federal bench. “The position of U.S. district judge is one I’ve always aspired to.”

Whelan is survived by his wife, Patricia.

An active Catholic, Whelan had served as president of the Holy Name Union in the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and president of the Los Angeles Newman Club, an organization of Catholic business, professional and civic lay leaders.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Cross Chapel, 5835 Slauson Ave., Culver City, with interment in Holy Cross Cemetery.

The family has asked that any memorial contributions be made to St. John of God Hospital, 2035 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90018.