THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY FONTANA, PIPPY AND COSTA, OCTOBER 14, 2010

INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, OCTOBER 14, 2010  

A RESOLUTION

Honoring the life and work of Judge John G. Brosky and extending

condolences upon the occasion of his passing.

WHEREAS, The Honorable John G. Brosky was born on August 4,

1920, in Scott Township, Allegheny County, one of seven children

to the late Joseph and Rose Brosky, and died on October 10,

2010; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brosky attended Clark High School and enrolled

at the University of Pittsburgh on a football scholarship; and

WHEREAS, Upon graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in

1942, he was immediately drafted into the Army Air Force and

served during World War II as a captain of artillery in the

South Pacific; and

WHEREAS, Returning from the war as a disabled veteran after

catching malaria, Judge Brosky used the G.I. Bill to enroll in

the University of Pittsburgh School of Law; and

WHEREAS, Soon after graduation in 1949, he joined the

Pennsylvania Air National Guard, eventually retiring as a major

general; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brosky married his wife, Rose, in 1950 after

they met at a funeral for a mutual friend, and they had three

children, David, John and Carol; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brosky began what was to become a 46-year

career on the bench in 1956 when he was appointed to the

Allegheny County Court; and

WHEREAS, In 1960, he was appointed to the Court of Common

Pleas, where he quickly established himself as a reformer; and

WHEREAS, During his tenure as a trial judge, he made his most

important mark in Family Court, where he served ten years as

administrative judge of the family division, working with others

to establish consistent procedures for handling domestic

relations, divorce, juvenile crime and related cases, ordering

that child support could no longer be paid by personal check,

long unreliable, creating a system to provide legal services to

indigent people seeking divorce and setting up a program for

paternity testing; and

WHEREAS, In 1980, Judge Brosky was elected to the

Pennsylvania Superior Court, where he served until 1989, when he

decided not to run for reelection and served as a Senior Judge

until 2002; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brosky was an outstanding advocate - in 1995

and in 2005, when the 911th Airlift Wing was on a list of

military bases slated for closure, Judge Brosky played a key

role in persuading Congress to save it; in 1997, when the Three

Rivers Regatta was in significant debt, he led the investigation

that turned the organization around and served on the Board of

the Regatta until his death; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brosky was also a leader in efforts to

establish a World War II memorial on the North Shore, serving as

a co-chairman of the fundraising organization, the World War II

Veterans of Allegheny County Memorial Fund; and

WHEREAS, In 2004, Judge Brosky was awarded the Distinguished

Alumni Award from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law,

and his many outstanding contributions earned him various other

awards, including the Vectors/Pittsburgh Richard S. Caliguiri

Award, the Dr. Samuel Francis School of Law Award, the Pride of

Pennsylvania, the Vector/Pittsburgh Man of the Year in Law and

Government, the Kosciuszko Foundation Man of the Year, the

George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at

Valley Forge, the St. Thomas More Award, the University of

Pittsburgh Varsity Letterman of Distinction Award, the Allegheny

County Family Law Award and the Vietnam Veterans Leadership

Award; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brosky was also a member of the Hall of Fame

for the Pennsylvania Horseshoe Pitcher Association and the

Pennsylvania Air National Guard; and

WHEREAS, Judge Brosky was an active member of many

organizations and served as a fellow for the Pennsylvania Bar

Foundation and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, was

a past president of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial

Judges and served on the Board of Visitors for the University of

Pittsburgh School of Law, as president of the Greater Pittsburgh

Guild for the Blind, as past national president of the Air Force

Association and as president of the Military Affairs Council of

Western Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, In January 2003, Judge Brosky joined the law firm of

Grogan Graffam, P.C., Of Counsel, and offered mediation and

arbitration services; and

WHEREAS, Preceded in death by his wife, Rose, in 2008, Judge

Brosky is survived by his sons, David J. and John C., his

daughter, Carol A. Brosky Baker, four grandchildren and two

brothers, Stanley and George; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate extend condolences to the family of

Judge John G. Brosky upon the occasion of his passing; and be it

further

RESOLVED, That the Senate by adoption of this resolution

honor the life and work of Judge Brosky for his great and

illustrious service to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and his

contributions to the law.