Distinguished Jurist Wrenn Dies Judge Had Lifelong Heart Trouble; Volunteered At House Of Charity
Richard Wrenn, who served 15 years as a Spokane County District Court judge, died Friday.
Wrenn, who had heart trouble stemming from two childhood bouts with rheumatic fever, was 63.
Doctors once told his parents he wouldn’t live to adulthood. He proved the physicians wrong, but underwent three open-heart surgeries, including an experimental procedure in the 1960s.
“He loved the law, loved his family and against some incredible medical odds survived much longer than anyone believed he would,” said state Supreme Court Justice Richard Guy, a longtime friend. Guy presented Wrenn with a Distinguished Judicial Service Award from Gonzaga University in 1994.
Wrenn retired from the bench in 1994 after suffering a stroke. He was hospitalized several times this year but died at his Liberty Lake home from heart failure, said his wife, Carol Wrenn.
Born in Butte, Mont., and raised in Spokane, Wrenn graduated from North Central High School in 1950 and earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington. He joined the Marines prior to studying law at Gonzaga University.
He worked as a deputy prosecuting attorney and assistant state attorney general before he was hired in 1972 as Spokane’s city attorney. In that role, he ironed out legal issues that stood in the way of Expo ‘74, said Guy.
County commissioners appointed Wrenn to the bench in 1978. He was elected later that year, and re-elected twice, most recently in 1990.
“He was a mentor to me in District Court,” said James Murphy, now a Superior Court judge. “He was patient and one who wore the robe of office in a stately manner, the way it ought to be worn.”
Wrenn, a member of St. Thomas More Parish and a volunteer at the House of Charity, said in a 1990 interview that the best thing about being a judge was helping people.
“Our defendants are not routinely evil people, they are careless people,” he said.
In one of his more publicized decisions, Wrenn in 1986 gave eight anti-abortion protesters suspended fines and jail sentences for trespassing at Deaconess Medical Center. He told them not to return to the hospital for at least a year.
“Be imaginative and figure out a way to get your message across in a way that does not interfere with other people’s rights,” he told the protesters.
In addition to his wife, Wrenn is survived by his mother, Esther Wrenn of Newport, Wash., five sons, one daughter, two stepsons, one stepdaughter, and 15 grandchildren.
A funeral Mass is scheduled at 11 a.m. today at St. Thomas More Parish. The family suggests memorial remembrances be sent to the House of Charity, W. 9 Main, Spokane, WA 99201.
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