Francis J. Catania, 89 retired Delco judge

Francis J. Catania, 89, of Wallingford, retired president judge of Delaware County Court, died Sunday at Crozer-Chester Medical Center of heart failure.

Judge Catania was appointed to Delaware County Court in 1963 and served for 27 years, including six years as an administrative judge and 14 years as president judge.

In 1974, he presided over the trial of former United Mine Workers president W.A. "Tony" Boyle, who was convicted of ordering the murders of Joseph "Jock" Yablonski and his wife and daughter.

Although the murders occurred in Washington County, the trial was moved to Delaware County because of the notoriety of the case. During the trial, the prosecution contended that Boyle ordered Yablonski's murder because Yablonski challenged him for the union presidency. In 1977 the state Supreme Court set aside the conviction and ordered a new trial. Judge Catania presided over the second trial as well, and Boyle was again convicted of murder in 1978.

Judge Catania as president judge supervised 16 Common Pleas Court judges, 29 district justices, and 500 employees. "He runs a very tight ship. He has a sharp tongue and he will dress you down if you're not prepared," lawyer Roger L. Mutzel told an Inquirer reporter in 1989.

In February 1990, a month before retiring as president judge, Judge Catania presided over a ceremony marking the 200th anniversary of the Delaware County court system. Noting the rich history of the court, he said: "We literally live in a museum without walls."

Judge Catania, who served as a senior judge until 1991, was past president of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges. In 1992, the Judge Francis J. Catania Law Library was dedicated in the Delaware County Courthouse in Media.

Judge Catania graduated from Ridley Township High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University. During World War II he served in the Army Air Force in the China-Burma-India Theater.

After his discharge, he earned a law degree from Temple University and later served on Temple's board.

Before his appointment to the bench, he practiced law in Chester and was a solicitor for seven municipalities in Delaware County. For four years he was a deputy attorney general for Pennsylvania and for six years he was Delaware County coroner. He was former chairman of the Republican Committee in Ridley Township and from 1959 to 1963 served on the "War Board," the Republican policy-making committee that selected candidates for county offices.

Judge Catania and his wife, Elizabeth Frandsen Catania, married in 1950 and raised six children in a house his father built in Woodlyn. He inherited his father's skills and was a good handyman, his son Francis Jr. said. Other than his family, his son said, his favorite pastime was baseball, and he was convinced that his wife, who died in 2008, interceded with a high authority to clinch the Phillies' World Series win that year.

In addition to his son, Judge Catania is survived by another son, Christopher; daughters Betsy Leighton, Nancy Gremminger, Marylouise Esten, and Amy Kulper; 14 grandchildren; and two brothers.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. John Chrysostom Roman Catholic Church, 605 S. Providence Rd., Wallingford. Friends may call from 9 a.m. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.