RONALD WERTHEIM

WERTHEIM--Ronald. The Honorable Ronald Peter Wertheim passed away on March 6, 2022, at his home in Blue Hill, Maine, at age 88. Born September 7, 1933 in Philadelphia, PA, Ron was raised by his mother, Ruth Gebelein Wertheim. Ron learned to read at age three, skipped three grades and earned a full scholarship to boarding school at Mt. Hermon. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the Wharton School (B.S. 1954), and received his law degree in 1957 from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. Ron worked as a private attorney, then as Assistant Public Defender in Philadelphia, became associate professor of law at the University of Virginia, and in 1964 was appointed to serve as Deputy General Counsel then Associate Director of the Peace Corps in Northeast Brazil. Ron was nominated to the Merit Systems Protection Board by President Carter in 1979, and in 1981 by President Reagan to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where he served as a judge for almost 40 years. His wide legal experience, Ron said, "exposed me to people of very different social, economic, and racial circumstances, and helped me to recognize that every person before a judicial body is entitled to the same courtesy and dignified treatment as any other person, regardless of the number of dollars that might be involved in the matter at issue." Ron had a brilliant mind and was happiest when reading a book or The New York Times. He was a loving father who met the untimely death of his son, Carter Dewey Wertheim, in 2001, with his customary grace. A gentle and contemplative soul to the end, Ron was indeed an honorable man. Ron Wertheim is survived by his wife, artist Elizabeth Osborne, his first wife, Mitzi Mallina Wertheim, his daughter, Tiana Wertheim, his stepdaughter, Audrey Osborne Cooper, and his grandchildren, Ava Carter Zlatchin, Nico Clark Zlatchin, Riley McGraw Wertheim, Imogen Cret Cooper Steed, and his beloved dog, Ramsey.