Judge Jerry K. Fields

1926 - 2022

June 4, 1926 - February 9, 2022 Jerry was born in Los Angeles, the only son of Helen and Jerry Fields. He grew up in Hollywood, attended Hollywood High School and, after graduating in 1944, was inducted into the Army. Upon his discharge he enrolled at UCLA, where he was a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. Jerry graduated in 1950 with a degree in business and a major in accounting. He then enrolled at USC Law School. Jerry often stated that he fell in love with the law from almost the first day of law school. At USC he was a member of the Editorial Board of the USC Law Review, graduating in 1953. During law school he married the former Joyce Fox, who died an untimely death in 1961 at age 29.
In 1963, Jerry married Valerie, his loving wife of 55 years. Valerie died on January 1, 2019 at the age of 92. Jerry is survived by their four children, Bill Fields and his partner Dan Saunders, Linda Fields Vigor, Jill Fields and her husband Ken Mate, and Jana Fields Uslan and her husband Brian. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Jennifer Kalm (Dr. Ben Kalm), Bryan Jersky (Brandina), and Michael Uslan (Lory), and seven great grandchildren, twins Nathan and Alexander Kalm, and Lucas Kalm, Weston and Connor Jersky, and Parker and Brianna Uslan.
Jerry often stated that he and Valerie led interesting lives. Jerry spent 1955 in Washington, D.C., working for then Congressman James Roosevelt. His favorite memory from that time was having dinner with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Jimmy Roosevelt, just the three of them. Jerry, a staunch Democrat met Valerie in 1963 at a convention of the California Democratic Council. Together they were involved in numerous political activities, including supporting the election of close friends to office in the State Assembly and Senate, and to Congress. Valerie and Jerry were involved in Mayor Tom Bradley's campaigns for mayor in 1969 and 1973. Valerie was an active, full-time volunteer in those mayoral campaigns. In fact the 1973 campaign started in Valerie and Jerry's kitchen. Valerie ultimately became a twenty-year member of Bradley's executive staff after he was elected mayor in 1973.
Jerry spent one year as a member of the State of California Democratic Central Committee. In 1973, Mayor Bradley appointed Jerry a city commissioner and asked him to serve as president of the Board of Administration of the City Employee's Retirement System, where he remained until he was appointed to the bench in 1980. Jerry, Valerie and their four children lived in Encino where Jerry became the longtime president of the Encino Property Owners Association. He was an executive board member of the Jewish Home for the Aging, stepping down after twelve years, and of the American Jewish Committee in Los Angeles. He was a board member of the County Bar Association, Litigation Section, and the California Women's Law Center. He was also a member of the Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills and the American Bar Associations.
Jerry practiced law in Beverly Hills for 26 years. In 1980, he was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court by then Governor Jerry Brown. Judge Fields retired from the bench in 1994 and became a private judge employed as an arbitrator and mediator for the next eleven years, periodically returning to the bench as an assigned judge. He felt very fortunate that he enjoyed his employment in the law, both as an attorney and a judge.
Jerry, who played trumpet in his youth, enjoyed dancing with Valerie to swing music and attending jazz concerts. They were also devoted subscribers to the LA Philharmonic and Ahmanson Theater. They traveled extensively, visiting Europe, Mexico, Israel, China, Africa, Cuba, Ecuador and Argentina as well as driving across America. They spent six weeks one summer in Panicale, Italy, having prepared for the trip by studying Italian together. Jerry was also quite athletic. He played on his high school football team, and as an adult took up tennis, which he played several times each week for decades.
Jerry had a zest for life, enduring commitment to social justice, and deeply loved his family. He was always on the right side of history. Jerry requested his tombstone state, "He loved the law." Contributions in his name may be made to the Jewish Home for the Aging or the Venice Family Clinic. Jerry's funeral will be held outdoors at the grave site at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, 5950 Forest Lawn Dr, LA 90068 on Sunday, February 13, 3 pm.