Honorable James J. Lombardi's Obituary
The Honorable James J. (Jim) Lombardi - retired Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge, resolver of disputes, charismatic scholar, longtime Maryland resident - died peacefully with loved ones at home in Annapolis, Maryland, on June 11, 2019. Judge Lombardi was 83 years old. Jim Lombardi was born in Philadelphia on March 11, 1936, and was raised, along with his younger brother John, in a tidy Baltimore rowhouse. Jim graduated from Loyola Blakefield High School in 1953. After serving his two years in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Japan, he then attended and graduated from Catholic University in 1961, followed by receiving his law degree from American University in 1963, the same year he married Ann Beaulieu Landry of Millinockett, Maine. The couple were both active in Maryland politics and had three children, Joseph, Ann Marie and Joyce. Jim Lombardi served in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Prince George’s County, from 1971 to 1974. He entered his private law practice in 1970, partnering with Jason Amster and Ralph Powers, where he focused on general litigation and insurance defense. Jim was selected to serve on the Maryland Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules and Procedure in 1972, where he remained for 25 years. Judge Lombardi became an Orphans Court judge in Prince George’s County in 1977 and then a part-time U.S. federal magistrate judge from 1980 to 1994. He was appointed to the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County in 1997, where he served until mandatory retirement in 2006. "I believe the duty of a judge is to resolve disputes,” Judge Lombardi wrote in 1998. He spent much of his long career doing just that. In October 2017, Jim married his second love, Cindy Davis of Annapolis, Maryland. The couple lived in Annapolis, Maryland, with Cindy’s son Davis, and their two dogs, Cooper and Charlie. Judge Lombardi is remembered as charismatic, personable, energetic, and a scholar of Shakespeare and Franklin Roosevelt. He also had a lifelong penchant for reading, acting and theater. He was very proud to have played a starring role in “12 Angry Men” in a co-production of Prince George’s Courts and Prince George’s Little Theater in August 2001. Jim’s happiest times were spent on Weems Creek where he would row his scull for exercise and enjoyment. Jim was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gherig’s disease) in 2007 but managed to keep the disease at bay for over a decade. He died of complications following a stroke. Jim Lombardi is survived – and deeply loved -- by his wife, three children, stepson, and two grandchildren.
Family, friends and colleagues are invited to a Celebration of Jim’s life on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, from 6 pm to 9 pm, at the Charles Carroll House, behind St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 107 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401.
What’s your fondest memory of James?
What’s a lesson you learned from James?
Share a story where James' kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with James you’ll never forget.
How did James make you smile?