Former Chief Federal Judge Dies

Marion Jones Callister, former chief federal judge for Idaho, died at a Boise hospital Tuesday. He was 76.

Callister, who practiced law in Blackfoot and Boise, was an assistant U.S. attorney for Idaho and 4th District judge in Boise before he was named to the federal bench.

In 1989, he went to senior or semi-retired status.

In the 1980s, Callister issued a key ruling in the national battle to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment Funeral services will be held Monday at 1 p.m. in the Boise Third Ward LDS Chapel.

He was born at Moreland, attended grade school at Groveland and high school at Blackfoot. He was president of the student body and active in sports. Callister was a member of the state championship basketball team in 1939.

He received a legal degree from the University of Utah before moving to Boise in 1953 as a federal attorney. He was appointed a district judge in 1970 by Gov. Don Samuelson.

He is survived by his wife Nina, 12 children, 47 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren and two brothers and four sisters.