Judge George Yatron, former D.A., dies
Former District Attorney George C. Yatron died in Reading, the Berks County Bar Association announced.
Former Berks County District Attorney George C. Yatron died Friday morning in Reading, the Berks County Bar Association announced.
“We extend our condolences to Judge Yatron’s loved ones and colleagues,” the bar association’s said in a post on Facebook.
Yatron, the son of the late U.S. Congressman Gus Yatron, served as district attorney from 1980 to 1992.
In 1991, the year before his term ended, Yatron was appointed to a position as administrative law judge with the Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in the Social Security Administration.
He held the position at the time of his death, working out of the Social Security office in Elkins Park, Montgomery County. He also had an office at the Gateway Building in Reading, where he died in chambers at age 69.
Attorney Allan L. Sodomsky said Yatron hired him as an assistant district attorney right out of law school in 1986.
“He was such an instrumental part of my career,” said Sodomsky, a partner in Sodomsky & Nigrini law firm in Reading. “I will be forever thankful.”
Yatron was a nice man who was very easy to work for, said Sodomsky, who spent 3½ years in the district attorney’s office.
“His passing is a very, very sad day for me,” he said, “and a sad day for
Berks County.” District Attorney John T. Adams said Yatron’s passing was a loss to the Berks County legal community.
Adams’ understanding was that Yatron succumbed in his chambers at the Gateway Building, the site of federal courts.
“He’s going to be missed,” Adams said.
Reading City Councilman Stratton P. Marmarou said he had known the Yatron family for most of his life.
“Our mothers were from the same neighborhood in Greece,” said Marmarou, a retired Reading police officer.
When Yatron was a young lawyer, Marmarou hired him as solicitor for the Reading Police Beneficial Association.
“I see him in church every Sunday,” said Marmarou. “He is going to be missed by the Greeks in Reading.”
Yatron was a member of Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Reading.
Christos Dikos, president of the parish council, said Yatron was a lifetime member and faithful supporter of the church.
“We mourn his loss,” said Dikos. “He is going to be missed.”
Yatron was the son of Constantine ‘Gus’ and Mildred (Menzies) Yatron of Reading. The elder Yatron was U.S. Congressman from 1969 to 1993.
George Yatron earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 1973, and graduated from Georgetown University Law School in 1976.
He served as an assistant public defender in Berks County from 1976 to 1980, when he was elected district attorney. He was a member of the Berks County and Philadelphia bar associations and was a former president of the Pennsylvania District Attorney Association.
He had published articles in The American Lawyer, the National Law Journal and the New York Law Journal.
“He was such an instrumental part of my career. I will be forever thankful.”
— Attorney Allan L. Sodomsky