Peter Michael Handwork

1941 - 2020

(News story) Peter Michael Handwork, a retired presiding judge of the Sixth District Court of Appeals in Toledo, died Saturday at ProMedica Ebeid Hospice in Sylvania. He was 78.

He died after a long bout with metastasized melanoma and amyloidosis, his wife of 41 years, Claudia Handwork, said.

Judge Handwork retired from the Sixth District Court of Appeals in 2013 after about 26 years of service as the presiding judge, a position to which he was elected in 1987 for an indefinite term, succeeding Judge John J. Connors, Jr.

"He was a pillar in the judicial community in Toledo," Judge Gene Zmuda, the presiding judge of the Sixth District Court of Appeals, said. "He was the longest serving appellate judge in Lucas County history. The length of his service tells you about the stability and integrity he brought to the court and is based on his temperament, intellect, and service to our profession as appellate judges.

"And he was a great advocate for teaching the importance of what we do in our profession as judges, but more importantly for teaching law students how to become effective lawyers," Judge Zmuda said.

Judge Handwork had served on that appellate court for 30 years – from February, 1983 when his six-year term started after he was elected in November, 1982, until retirement. The appellate court district includes Erie, Fulton, Lucas, Huron, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams, and Wood counties.

Before that, Judge Handwork was for six years a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge, a position to which he was appointed in December, 1976, by Governor James Rhodes to fill a vacancy created by Judge Connors, who was elevated to the Sixth District Court of Appeals.

An unsuccessful Republican candidate for county prosecutor that year, he previously was a partner at Watkins, Bates, and Handwork in Toledo from 1972 to 1976 after serving as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1969 to 1972, both in Toledo. Before that, he was an attorney at Eastman, Stichter, Smith & Bergman, also in Toledo, from 1967 to 1969.

He was also an adjunct professor at the University of Toledo's paralegal studies program for many years, coaching the university's inter-collegiate mock trial team.

In the 1990s he also was a board member for the American Mock Trial Association.

In 1994, he received the Congressman Neal Smith Award, given to the educators for outstanding contributions to law-related education.

In retirement, Judge Handwork continued to work as a visiting judge, mediator, and arbitrator until he retired permanently in 2019 because of declining health.

He also served on the Lucas County Board of Elections from 2014 when he was named to it to help end a period of political uproar until 2017, when he resigned, with two months left in his term.

Judge Handwork, a Republican, was appointed over the objections of Lucas County Republican Chairman Jon Stainbrook in 2014, to end what then Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted characterized as "a culture of dysfunction" on the elections board.

The resignation came about two weeks after a contentious board meeting in which Judge Handwork directly criticized James Hartley over Mr. Hartley's attempts to obtain records about a 2015 election in which votes were accidentally omitted in two uncontested Sylvania Township races. Mr. Hartley was a fellow Republican appointee, with whom he clashed on several occasions.

Besides the Lucas County Board of Elections, he had also he served over the years on the boards of other area organizations such as Maumee Valley Country Day School, the Sylvania Board of Education, the Court Diagnostic and Treatment Center, the Toledo Country Club, and the Lucas County Board of Elections.

"He was not only the most loving, generous, and kind person you can ever meet - he was someone who would make you feel safe and comfortable," Allison Handwork, his daughter, said. "He was gracious and funny and incredibly kind."

Judge Handwork was born Dec. 2, 1941 in Toledo to Jean and Bentley Handwork.

He was raised in Sylvania and graduated from Maumee Valley Country Day School.

Judge Handwork later continued his education, obtaining a bachelor's degree from Lake Forest College and a law degree from the University of Toledo, in 1963 and 1966 respectively. While at UT, he was president of the Student Bar Association.

Upon graduating the University of Toledo College of Law, he hired on at Eastman, Stichter, Smith & Bergman, beginning his professional career.

His professional memberships included Toledo, state, and American bar associations and Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association.

Judge Handwork was a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Toledo and the Toledo Country Club.

In his free time, he liked to golf, dance, grow tomatoes, and feed birds. He also enjoyed traveling with his wife.

Along with his wife Claudia, surviving are his daughters, Courtney Kuhn, Lindsey Hickey, Allison Handwork, Andrea Senn; sons, Peter Handwork II and Derek Senn; brothers Tom, Chris, and John Handwork; and 18 grandchildren. Also surviving is his first wife, Joan Durgin.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Arrangements are by Walker Funeral Home.

The family suggests tributes to the Rotary Club of Toledo, the Melanoma Research Foundation, or St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church, Ottawa Hills.

This is a news story by Mike Sigov. Contact him at sigov@theblade.com or 419-724-6089.