Distinguished Lawyer Memorial Honoree

Hon. F.V. Lopardo

The tenth of fourteen children of Italian immigrants, F.V. Lopardo was born in Hoosick Falls, New York, in 1920. He graduated in 1941 from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in languages and literature. He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1942 and served as a combat officer during the battle of Iwo Jima. After the war, Judge Lopardo obtained a master's degree from the University of Southern California and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1948. He practiced law in a small firm in Los Angeles until moving to Escondido in 1960, with his first wife, Betty. He served as president of the Escondido Union School District. Judge Lopardo practiced law in Escondido until he was appointed to the Superior Court in 1971 by then Gov. Ronald Reagan and served as one of the two first-time judges in Vista. Judge Lopardo was instrumental in the development of the North County Law Library in Vista, and the mentor of numerous young attorneys learning their trade. He retired from the court in 1987 and worked until 1997 as a private judge specializing in the settlement of complex civil cases. Throughout his life, he remained a devout Catholic.