John F. Van De Poel Sr.

John F. Van De Poel Sr., a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend passed away peacefully on July 30, 2020 with his family by his side. He is predeceased by his parents Henry & Elva (Sears) and his sister Peggy LaField.

He was born in San Francisco on June 24, 1932, attended St. Ignatius High School and graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1954. Following his graduation, he served two years in the Army and was stationed in Germany.

After returning home he attended Hastings College of Law, graduating in 1959. He was associated with several law firms, the last as managing partner of Van De Poel, Strickland & Haapala. During this time he served as a board member & president of the American Board of Trial AdvocatesNorthern California Chapter, the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California, and the Alameda County Bar Association and was a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He also greatly enjoyed his association with the Trader Brown Society and his boating outings with Encinal Yacht Club. In 1992 he was appointed to the Superior Court of Contra Costa County where he served for ten years. Following his retirement in 2002 he continued to enjoy reading, boating, travelling, and spending time with family and friends.

John is survived by his wife of 65 years Dorothy, sons Jay(Carol) & Jeff(Karen) and daughter Nan(Bill), 5 grandchildren Drew(Ashley), Amy, Morgan(Shane), Cole, Alexandra and 3 great grandchildren Holden, Graham and Miles. He will be deeply missed and we will always remember him for his sarcastic sense of humor, his kind heart and how easily he was moved to tears when speaking about his family.

A small family gathering will be planned to celebrate John’s life.

Donations can be made in his honor to the Contra Costa Crisis Center, P.O. Box 3364, Walnut Creek, CA 94598 or www.crisis-center. org