Two of the giants in San Bernardino County’s public life over the last four decades made their way into eternity recently.
Stan Hodge, a luminary in the legal community, passed away on November 12, one month after Robert Christman, who was formerly Loma Linda’s mayor, died on October 12.
Hodge, who was born on July 22, 1947, was an attorney practically his entire professional life. After graduating from USC Law School, he passed the California Bar on December 18, 1973. He was 26 years old.
Hodge was a prosecutor in the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office under then-District Attorney Lowell Lathrop. He also had a private practice in law, including an office in Colton. In October 1990, was elevated to the bench by then-California Governor George Deukmejian. He functioned from the Victorville Courthouse for seven years, retiring as a Superior Court judge in October 1997 and returning to private practice, with an office in Victorville.
He handled both criminal defense and civil matters.
Included among his clients were defendants in cases involving allegations of political corruption and malfeasance in office. He handled murder cases and libel cases.
“He was a fine attorney, but more importantly he was a good and kind man,” said Steve Bremser, a fellow attorney. “I am grateful that I had the chance to know him.”
A Rosary will be said in his honor at 10 a.m at Our Lady of the Desert Church, located at 18386 Corwin Road in Apple Valley on November 30, to be followed immediately with a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. A memorial service for Stan will be held Saturday, December 1, 2018 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 p.m. at Desert View Funeral Home in Victorville.
Christman was born on August 15, 1950 in Honolulu, Hawaii where his parents, Donald and Dorothy Christman, were missionaries for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. When Bob was two, his parents took up a mission in South America. When he was 15, his parents moved their family of six back to the United States. Christman made his adult home in the Adventist community of Loma Linda, where he married and raised four children and two stepchildren. He worked as a herb farmer and as an investment adviser and estate planner.
His civic concern resulted in him successfully seeking election to the Loma Linda City Council. He remained on the council for twenty years, serving multiple terms as mayor. The knowledge he accumulated in office was subsequently converted to use when he worked in management with governmental agencies, most recently as the executive director of the West Valley Water District.
-Mark Gutglueck