Ross Tharp

He passed away at his longtime Point Loma home on Friday from complications from cancer, according to his eldest daughter, Robin Tharp Nordhoff.

As a jurist, Tharp was known for being hard on people in his courtroom, at one time responding to criticism by saying: "A lot of lawyers don't like hanging judges, and I'm a hanging judge." He was also gregarious, intellectual and proud of his conservatism.

"He was unique," said Judge Judith McConnell, administrative presiding justice for the state 4th District Court of Appeal. McConnell was the Superior Court's presiding judge when Tharp retired. She described him as an elegant, impeccably dressed man who ruled with a bit of panache.

She recalled the term used among courthouse regulars: "being Tharped."

"that mean you'd been in his court and had been taken down a notch," she recalled.

"He had a certain reputation for being very solicitous to juries," she said. "He didn't allow sidebar conferences because he didn't believe you should whisper in front of jurors."

Ross Gene Tharp was born in San Fernando on January 10, 1929, and grew up in San Pedro. He graduated from Loyola University and its law school, meeting his wife, Charlotte "Betty" Steeger Tharp, when he was a boarder in her home. The couple raised five children.

Tharp came to San Diego during the Korean War as a staff judge advocate at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and decided to stay after leaving the military. He set up a law practice in 1955 and dabbled in commercial real estate development on the side.

He served on the City Council from 1657 to 1961, losing re-election to Helen Cobb, the first woman to be elected to the council.

During his tenure he argued for Mission Valley to retain its pastoral nature and remain a green belt, fearing developers would turn it into a strip of car lots and neon signs as seen on El Cajon Boulevard, his daughter recalled. "He was a very early environmentalist," she said.

His combined experience as a politician, attorney, judge and businessman helped earn him a reputation as an effective mediator who took a more aggressive than back-seat approach to settling cases.

In 198, Tharp tried to mediate a settlement in the criminal case against then-Mayor Roger Hedgecock after a mistrial, but the effort was unsuccessful. Hedgecock was retired and convicted of conspiracy and perjury relating to campaign contribution violations. Hedgecock's perjury convictions were overturned on appeal and the conspiracy charge was later dismissed.

Tharp went for a political seat again in 1980, running for the 78th Assembly District as the Republican candidate. He lost the bitter campaign to Democratic incumbent Larry Kapiloff, who later became a judge and shared the Vista courthouse with his one-time opponent for a while.

Tharp got some flak at the time of his decision to take a leave of absence rather than resign from the bench during the Assembly campaign.

He retired in 1990. Judge Frederic Link, then a municipal judge, was appointed to fill the vacant seat.

Tharp returned to Superior Court often after retirement on special assignment by the Judicial Council in Southern California. He also continued to help settle cases as a special master by appointment of the Los Angeles Superior Court.

The Tharps were frequently mentioned in local society columns and widely known for their Oktoberfest parties at their home that benefited the Marine Corps Museum. The couple was also involved in several organizations and charities, including the Marine Corps Historical Society, American Heart Association, San Diego Historical Society and March of Dimes.