Charles French, 53, judge and mentor
Brad Meagher, a close friend and former law partner, said the "crazy cancer was an inconvenience" to Judge French, who was appointed to the Snohomish County Superior Court bench in 1997.
Judge French rarely missed a day of work and refused to acknowledge his doctors' suggestions that he take a vacation, said his wife, Diane.
He worked until shortly before he was hospitalized June 23. He died of pneumonia at Providence Everett Medical Center late Tuesday night. He was 53.
"He didn't want to live any other way but to work," Diane French said yesterday. "It made him into who he was. It made him a good dad and a good husband."
Judge French followed in the footsteps of his father, Stuart, when he decided to become a lawyer and a Snohomish County Superior Court judge.
Judge French was born in Spokane but was raised in Everett. In 1969, during his senior year at Cascade High School, he met his future wife during a poker game. They were married during their junior year at what was then Central Washington State College. They moved to Salem, Ore., in 1974 so he could attend Willamette University's law school.
The couple returned to Everett, and Charles French joined his father's law firm. When his father became a judge in 1979, he became a partner at Meagher & French.
The younger French practiced criminal, domestic, real-estate and business law. He was the first to volunteer his services for difficult pro-bono cases, said Joyce Wood, executive director of the Snohomish County Bar Association.
Judge French was president of the county bar association between 1990 and 1991.
"He was my mentor when I first started," said Meagher. "He taught me how to do it right."
Gov. Gary Locke appointed him to a newly created bench seat in July 1997; his father, by then retired, administered the oath of office.
Four months later Judge French won the general election.
Judge French was involved in numerous high-profile cases, including the trials of several teenagers who helped Barbara Opel kill her live-in boss in Everett in April 2001. He found his favorite judicial role recently when he took over Juvenile Drug Court, his wife said.
"Those were his kids," Diane French said about the participants in the program. "He was going to straighten things out with love."
When Judge French wasn't working, he loved to spend time refereeing youth soccer games.
Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Mark Roe said Judge French was a regular participant in Friday-night poker parties but wasn't a very good card player.
"He never stayed late because he always ran out of money," Roe joked.
In addition to his wife, Judge French is survived by his sons, Nick and Lucas, of Everett; his father, Stuart French of Mukilteo; sisters Molly Mitchell of Spokane and Ann Tate of Mount Vernon; and brother Mark French of Denver.
A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. Monday on the steps of the Snohomish County Courthouse, 3000 Rockefeller Ave.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that contributions be sent to the Everett High School band program, 2416 Colby Ave., Everett, WA 98201.
Jennifer Sullivan: 425-783-0604 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com