Joseph Allan Sprankle Jr.; Former Judge, Pasadena City Director

Joseph Allan Sprankle Jr., 80, former Los Angeles County Superior Court judge and Pasadena city director. A native of Salt Lake City, he moved to Pasadena as a child and continued to live there during his 57-year marriage to Lois Sprankle. He earned his degrees from UC Santa Barbara and UC Hastings College of Law, and interrupted his private law practice to serve in the Navy during World War II. On his return, he served as Pasadena city prosecutor, a member of the city Planning Commission and the first president of the Pasadena Recreation Commission. He was elected a city director in 1947 and a Pasadena Municipal Court judge in 1949. He served as the chairman of the Municipal Court Judges Assn. of Los Angeles County before he was elected to the Superior Court in 1964. As a judge, Sprankle advocated legalization of marijuana and vasectomies as a condition of probation for fathers who fail to support their children. His off-duty time was devoted to the YMCA, the New Century Club, the County Arboretum Foundation and the Tournament of Roses. An avid gardener, Sprankle grew and donated plants to benefit many Pasadena organizations. On Feb. 11 in Pasadena.