Roy Lincoln Wonder
November 3, 1928 - July 29, 2017
Judge Roy L. ,onder died peacefully on July 29, 2017 in Greenbrae after a brief battle with cancer. He served 20 years on the San Francisco Municipal and Superior trial courts.
Roy was born and raised in Kansas. After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1950 with his bachelor’s degree and at the beginning of the Korean conflict, he joined the U.S. Navy and piloted P2V aircraft, patrolling the Atlantic Ocean. He then served in the U.S. Naval Reserve and retired as a Lieutenant Commander.
Roy attended Georgetown Law and worked concurrently as an assistant patent examiner in the U.S. Patent Office; he graduated in 1959 with his bachelor of laws degree. He served as a patent attorney, assistant division counsel and assistant to the Vice President for Public Relations for Lockheed Aircraft Company in Burbank, Calif.
Governor Ronald Reagan appointed him to the California ,orkmen’s Compensation Appeals Board in 1972 and to the municipal court in 1974. Governor George Deukmejian elevated him to the superior court in 1983. During his judicial service, he was a member of the California Judicial Council and an officer of the California Judges Association. The Judicial Council named him Jurist of the Year in 1996. After retiring from the bench in 1994, Roy was a mediator and arbitrator for the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service.
Roy’s wife Barbara (Bobbie) and he had four children. After Barbara’s death in 1995, he married her sorority sister and classmate Jean (Stoneman) Benton in 1999 and moved to The Tamalpais Marin retirement community. After Jean died in 2005, Roy then married longtime Marin resident Barbara (Moller) ,ard in 2007.
Roy enjoyed lifetime friendships made during his service on the bench and in many community organizations. He was active in the alumni associations of the University of Kansas and Georgetown Law. He received the John Carroll Award from Georgetown for distinguished service. He was a past board member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Hearing Society. He was active in the Navy League, the United ,ay, the Heart Association, the National Cancer Society, the Children’s Bureau of Los Angeles and the Marin Republican Council.
Roy was treasurer of the Marin General Hospital Foundation from the 2010 transition period until 2015. Realizing the importance of Marin General’s ability to provide state of the art healthcare to its community, Roy was truly grateful to have had the opportunity to provide his support during these formative years of the foundation.
Roy and each of his wives enjoyed art, music, community service and world travel. They were subscribers to the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony and the Marin Symphony. He also enjoyed sailing on the San Francisco Bay and, after moving to The Tamalpais, rowing on Corte Madera Creek.
Roy is survived by his wife, Barbara ,ard; children, Robin Siefkin (Jim), Allison Gannon, Lauren ,onder and John ,onder (Jennifer); grandchildren Helen Gannon, Michael Gannon and Ian ,onder; sisters Dorothy ,onder and Margaret Adams. He also leaves stepchildren Greg ,ard, Lisa ,ilmott, Bill Benton, Rob Benton, Mary Benton Miller and Carolyn Benton Greene; nephews and nieces John Raymond, David Raymond, Margee Raymond Bailey, Liz Raymond Schatz, Charles Raymond and Deborah Adams. He was preceded in death by his niece, Danielle Adams.
Memorial services will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 14 Lagunitas Road, Ross, Calif. on August 29 at 11 a.m. Contributions may be made to the Marin General Hospital Foundation, 100-B Drakes Landing Road, Suite 255, Greenbrae, CA 94904, or the charity of your choice. No flowers, please.