Jorge A. Vargas August 26, 1937 - May 5, 2019 SAN DIEGO Esteemed professor and academician, Jorge A. Vargas, 81, died peacefully on May 5, 2019 at his home in San Diego, California. He was born on August 26, 1937 in Juarez, Mexico to Maria de La Luz Silva and Sebastian Vargas.Professor Vargas received his law degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City in 1962. In 1967 he was granted a fellowship to the United Nations, where he was a member of a distinguished group of international scholars. It was at this time, in New York City, that he met Lynda, whom he married in June 1968 in Greenwich, Connecticut. Not long after returning to Mexico City, Vargas was awarded an academic scholarship to study at Yale and earned his Master of Laws (LLM) degree there in International Law in 1971. Professor Vargas then served as a research fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington D.C. He returned to Mexico in 1972, now with two daughters, who were born respectively in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Alexandria Virginia. Dr. Vargas had an extraordinary career as a lawyer, diplomat, and professor of law. He travelled the world with then President of Mexico, Luis Echeverria, as his personal advisor and friend. He was a member of the historical United Nations Law of the Sea conference, over a period of ten years, meeting for two months a year in Geneva, Switzerland, Caracas, Venezuela, and other locations worldwide. In Mexico, professor Vargas taught law at several prominent universities. In the mid-1970's Dr. Vargas was a pioneer in the movement to protect the Grey Whales. In addition to his professional contributions as a conservationist, Vargas also took his message to elementary schools, sharing his love of whales and marine life with future generations, and instilling in them the principles of environmental conservation that he valued throughout his life. In 1982 Dr. Vargas and family, now with a son born in Mexico City, moved to San Diego, California, where he would enjoy a 33-year career teaching at the University of San Diego School of Law. Professor Vargas specialized in courses on Mexican Law, Law of the Sea, and International Environmental Law, and published extensively in the U.S. and Latin America. He also served as an expert witness on numerous U.S. cases throughout the country on matters involving Mexican law. In 2010 professor Vargas was awarded a doctorate of Juridical Science (SJD) by the University of Virginia, for his work and publication on Mexico's legal contributions at the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea. Retiring at age 77, professor Vargas enjoyed watercolor painting and playing the piano in his retirement. He is survived by his wife, Lynda (nee) Patrick of San Diego, daughters, Catherine Schweig of Newport News, Virginia, and Elizabeth Vargas, son, Jorge Alejandro Vargas of New York, New York, and two grandsons. Services are not planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to WildCoast (
www.wildcoast.org) or the Lupus Foundation of America (
www.lupus.org).
Published by San Diego Union-Tribune on May 10, 2019.