Robert Gardner, noted jurist, dies at 93

Robert Gardner, a Corona del Mar resident and former judge with the

Orange County Superior Court and the Court of Appeal, died Saturday

afternoon at age 93.

His daughter, Nancy Gardner of Newport Beach, was with him at the

time and said he passed away peacefully in his sleep. She said her

father’s health had been steadily declining since he broke his hip

about two years ago. “Newport Beach has lost one of its legends,”

said Nancy Nelson of Newport Beach, who worked with Judge Gardner for

many years when she was a probation officer. She said working with

him was one of the nicest things about her job and her life.

“He could tell a story better than anyone else,” Nelson said of

Gardner, who proved that for years as a columnist for the Daily

Pilot. She said he was always able to inject some of his sharp wit

into his court opinions, for which he was well known in the legal

profession.

Judge Gardner began his career as an attorney. When he was

appointed as a Superior Court judge, he was the youngest such judge

in the state. By the time he retired, he was also the longest-serving

Superior Court judge, Nancy Gardner said.

She said her father also served in World War II. After he retired

from the Court of Appeal, he spent three years as a judge in American

Samoa.

Attorney Cliff Roberts of Corona del Mar said he worked with Judge

Gardner on many cases over the years.

“The first million-dollar verdict I ever got in the Orange County

Superior Court, he was my judge,” Roberts said. “He was a wonderful,

brilliant judge who would take no nonsense -- not even from me.”

Roberts said Judge Gardner had an enormous number of friends from

all walks of life, and that he was a courageous man with a wonderful

sense of humor.

Judge Gardner also wrote two books -- one, “Bawdy Balboa,” was a

history of Balboa Island; the other was a book about body surfing,

one of his favorite pastimes.

“He taught me to surf,” said Nancy Gardner, who founded the

Newport Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. She said she and

her father were very close, spending a lot of time together at the

beach.

She added that her father went to the beach almost every day until

he began to get sick. He didn’t believe in sunscreen and visited the

doctor monthly to have skin cancers removed.

“We used to joke that he had put two of his dermatologist’s kids

through college,” Nancy Gardner said.

She added that one of her main concerns is finding a home for her

father’s long-haired dachshund, Rusty. She said she can’t take Rusty

because he doesn’t get along with her own dog.

Nancy Gardner said her father did not wish to have a funeral. She

plans at some point to have a party for his friends to get together

and celebrate his life.

“I consider it extreme good fortune to have known him all these

years,” Nelson said. “He was really an amazing person.”

Judge Robert Gardner is survived by his daughter, Nancy Gardner,

two granddaughters and six great-grandchildren.

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is the news assistant. She can be reached at

(714) 966-4625 or lindsay.sandham

@latimes.com.