LPC In the News
Libertarian D.A. Norm Vroman Dies

Fri, 22 Sep 2006

Norman L. Vroman, Mendocino County District Attorney, died Thursday, September 21, 2006. He was 69 years old.

Mr. Vroman was born in Los Angeles in 1936, and raised by his adoptive parents in Pomona and San Dimas, in San Bernardino County.

Mr. Vroman’s career was long and distinguished. He began working as an ambulance driver and a volunteer fireman while still a teenager. He was hired by the Pomona Police Department when he was only 18 years old. Mr. Vroman was promoted to sergeant, became a La Verne City Councilman, and earned a degree from the University of LaVerne while working as a Pomona police officer.

Mr. Vroman earned his law degree from the University of Colorado in 1961, and accepted a job with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, where he ended up in charge of the county’s West Covina branch.

In 1971, when he was only 33 years old, Mr. Vroman was appointed by Ronald Reagan to the Pomona Municipal Court, becoming the youngest judge in the State of California.

Mr. Vroman moved to Mendocino County in 1975, where he sold real estate, hauled cattle, taught school, worked as a public defender, a judge pro tem, and as the Assistant District Attorney for the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office.

Mr. Vroman was elected Mendocino County District Attorney in 1998. As District Attorney, his availability and accessibility to the people of Mendocino County and his commitment to the Constitution characterized his administration.

His wife, Raleigh Page-Russell of Hopland, daughter Kathryn Vroman Benner of Santa Paula, Ventura County, daughter Melissa Vroman of Glendale, Los Angeles County, son Brandt Vroman of West Linn, Oregon, a half sister, Denise Cook, of Lima, Ohio, and six grandchildren survive Mr. Vroman.

To honor and celebrate Mr. Vroman’s life and memory, an Irish Wake will be held at Brutocao Cellars in Hopland on September 30, 2006, at 4:00 p.m. For more information, go to the Mendocino County District Attorney website or contact Assistant District Attorney Keith Faulder at 463-4211.

Mr Vroman's obituary was printed in SFGate and the Ukiah Daily Journal, and more recently in the Mendocino Beacon.

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