Longtime Sonoma County judge Bryan Jamar dies at 80

Bryan Jamar, who was born into a family of sharecroppers and went on to graduate from law school and serve 20 years as a Sonoma County judge, died Sunday at Spring Lake Village in Santa Rosa.

He was 80 and had been ill with Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Jamar rose from his humble beginnings to become the first member of his family to attend college and earn a law degree. He earned a spot on the bench in 1976 by defeating John H. Moskowitz in an election that caused quite a stir in local legal circles.

Jamar, who was then a prosecutor, ran on a law-and-order platform, attacking Moskowitz directly for his handling of an assault case involving a juvenile who was placed on probation after stabbing a pregnant woman. The slogan of Jamar’s successful campaign was “Change is Needed.”

Local attorneys bristled at Jamar’s decision to go after a sitting judge. But he ran because he believed more needed to be done to protect the community from crime, said his son, Scott Jamar, who is a deputy district attorney in Sonoma County. “On occasion, he’d say, ‘I’ve got to make some decisions about how these criminal actions are going to affect the community, but also the defendant, the defendant’s family and the victim,’?” said Scott Jamar of Santa Rosa. “He considered all of the ramifications.”

Roy Bryan Jamar was born in Richland Springs, Texas, on April 15, 1934. His parents, Samuel and Girline Jamar, were sharecroppers who migrated west and settled in Alturas, Modoc County.

The young Jamar helped out on the wheat farm while attending school. He continued his studies at Sacramento State University and earned his law degree from Hastings College of the Law in 1959.

Jamar worked in the Department of Corporations in San Francisco from 1961 to 1963 and then had a private law practice. In 1969, he joined the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, serving as a prosecutor until his election to the bench.

Jamar also served in the Army Reserve for 28 years, retiring at the rank of colonel and commander of the 5th Judge Advocate General’s Military Law Center.

Scott Jamar said his father battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with a positive attitude and by finding joy in the people around him.

ALS attacks the motor neurons in the brain that control muscle movement and eventually causes death.

“Toward the end, we played dominoes and he kept better score than I did,” Scott Jamar said.

His father was active in many local organizations, including the active 20/30 Club, Rotary International, Easter Seals and the Elks Club. He also was a lifelong horseman, hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman.

In addition to his son, Jamar is survived by Gail, his wife of 57 years, both of Santa Rosa; and daughter Kathleen Ayre of El Dorado Hills.

Interment will be private. A public memorial is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. April 25 at the Wild Oak Saddle Club.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the ALS Association Golden West Chapter at www.alsagoldenwest.org or mailed to P.O. Box 565, Agoura Hills 91376.