BERRYVILLE â Appearing before Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Carle F. Germelman Jr. was often a trial by fire for attorneys, particularly if they were unprepared.
âHe demanded that everybody know what was going on in the case and he was extremely intimidating, but he always got to the right decision,â attorney Suzanne âSuniâ Mackall said on Tuesday about Germelman, who died of an unspecified illness on Dec. 23 at 84. âHe was one of the best judges Iâve ever been in front of even though he was scary and hard-nosed [because] he was extremely fair and extremely compassionate.â
Presiding from 1968 to 2004, Germelman was the longest serving JDR judge in Virginia, according to his obituary. He presided over what is now the 26th Judicial Circuit covering Winchester and Harrisonburg, as well as Clarke, Frederick, Page, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren counties.
The Honorable Carle F. Germelman, Jr.
The Honorable Carle F. Germelman Jr., 84, of Berryville, died peacefully on Dec. 23, 2020, at Winchester Medical Center.
âBingâ as he was known, was born Jan. 17th, 1936 in Richmond VA, the son of the late Carle F. Sr., & Helen (Poates) Germelman. He graduated from Handley H.S., class of 1954 followed by the University of Richmond & T.C. Williams School of Law. During college he met the love of his life, Donna Pethick on a blind date, fell in love & they were married for 61 years!
He served in the US Army. Captain Germelman was a JAG lawyer assigned to the Armor Training Center Ft. Knox, KY until 1963 when he left the Army for a position with Harrison & Johnston Law firm in Winchester. In 1968 he was appointed as the first Judge of the newly formed 7th Regional Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court from Clarke County to Rockingham County until retiring in 2003. He is the longest sitting JDR Court Judge in Virginiaâs history touchi