Judge Owen E. Woodruff, Jr. passed away from Pulmonary Fibrosis on September 1^st at the age of 91. Originally from Buffalo, New York where he grew up, Owen left for Ann Arbor, Michigan, in September 1934. He attended the University of Michigan from 1934-1939, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. With the outbreak of World War II Owen enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 4^th Armored Division at Pine Camp, New York (now Fort Drum). His military career took him to Fort Knox, Kentucky, and the Armor Officer Candidate School where he graduated in June 1942 as a second lieutenant with a cavalry commission. He married the late Elizabeth Jane Kelly on June 20, 1942 in Watertown, New York and took his bride to Camp Polk, Louisiana where he joined the 7^th Armored Division.

Owen served the next two years in Europe. For his service during the Battle of the Bulge he was awarded a Bronze Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster. He returned to the United States in early 1945 and was commissioned in the Regular Army. This new status resulted in his reassignment to Berlin, Germany with the 16^th Constabulary Squadron from 1946-1949. His unit played a key role during the Berlin Blockade.

In 1949 Owen applied for specialist training and was accepted at the University of San Francisco School of Law in September 1949. In June 1952 he graduated with a degree of Juris Doctor Cum Laude and was admitted to practice in California in September of that year. As an attorney, Owen was reassigned from Armor to the Judge Advocate Generals Corp. He served a 16-month tour in Pusan, Korea and following a series of stateside assignments as an Army lawyer, Owen retired from the Army as a full colonel on October 19, 1963, after 23 years, to take up permanent residence in San Francisco, California. From 1963-1965 he taught at his alma mater as an Assistant Professor. In 1965 he left the faculty to enter private practice. Although the emphasis was on criminal defense work, Owen had a general civil and criminal practice. In 1968 he was invited to join the staff of John Jay Ferdon who was the District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco at that time. For the next three years as an Assistant District Attorney he prosecuted major felony offenses.

On March 1, 1971 Owen was appointed to the Federal District Court in San Francisco as a Magistrate Judge. This was a newly created office and Owen was one of the three original appointees. He served a total of 16 years as a judge, with the last portion of that service as the Chief. In 1975 Owen presided over the arraignment of Patty Hearst, Bill and Emily Harris and two weeks later Sarah Jane Moore when she tried to shoot President Ford at the St. Francis Hotel.

Following his retirement from the bench in 1997, he moved to San Francisco Towers, where he resided until his death. Owen served as Editor of The Towerscope, an in-house publication, for six years.

Elizabeth died in 1978. He is survived by his three children: Penny Yorton of Houston, TX, Bruce Woodruff of Exton, PA, and Laurie Goodwin of Walnut Creek, CA, as well as four grandsons: Christopher Woodruff, Brian Woodruff, (their mother, Shireen Giguere Woodruff), Owen Goodwin and Sam Goodwin, six great grandchildren and his close friend, Grace Eaves Prien.

A private memorial reception will be held later this month. The family requests any donations in his memory be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.