Obituary of Paul Mario Marigonda

Paul Mario Marigonda passed away on December 10th in the comfort of his home surrounded by his family and his beloved canine companion Duke. Paul was the son of Laura and Cesare Marigonda of Trieste, Italy. He was a first generation American. Italian was his first language; Paul was extremely proud of his Italian heritage. He spoke with his relatives in Italy on a daily basis. Paul was born in Oakland, California on May 9, 1960. He graduated from Skyline high school in Oakland in 1978 and the University of California at Berkeley in 1982 where he studied political science, which became a lifelong passion. He was a proud Cal Bear and rarely missed a home football game. Paul went on to receive his Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University in 1986 before starting his legal career at New and Kay in San Francisco. In 1989 he started a long career at the Santa Cruz County district attorney's office where many treasured lifelong friendships were born. Paul felt he had more to give to his community and decided to run for a seat on the Scotts Valley city council in 2000 where he sat for several years and in 2005 served as the mayor of Scotts Valley. In 2006, Paul was appointed to the Santa Cruz County Superior Court bench. Paul was passionate about his work in the community as a judge and presided over many different types of cases including criminal, civil, probate, and family law. In addition, Paul was an early champion of the collaborative courts where he helped stabilize people with substance use disorders and mental illness. He also served as presiding judge of our Superior Court in 2014 and 2015. Even when Paul was ill and undergoing treatment, he found the courage and the energy to hear cases whenever he could. Working with his superior Court family was one of the biggest joys in his life. In 2018 Paul accepted a nomination to serve on the executive board of the California judges Association. During his three-year tenure the board, Paul was very active and served as vice president and chair of both board membership and CJP work groups. Paul found his efforts with the CJA profoundly rewarding and a great deal of fun, and he gathered additional friendships and deep relationships along the way. Paul received one of his highest honors in 2021 when he received the statewide California judges association president’s award. People knew Paul as an incredibly fun and warm person. He was so full of joy and had an incredible love of life. He was enthusiastic about everything presented to him. Paul never lacked supportive friends or wonderful relationships, and he was blessed to have these friends carry him through this challenging illness. You often would hear Paul coming before you ever saw him with his loud voice and huge, booming laugh. He loved his daily walks, usually with his best friend Duke at his side. Paul loved to travel, and he and Margaret took many wonderful trips together to Europe and Mexico. The highlight of Paul's life would be raising his two sons and enjoying his family. He was proud to say he never missed one of their sporting events and looked forward to attending all their activities. Paul is survived by his wife of 31 years Margaret (Baker), his sons Peter and Patrick, daughter in-law Brittney, and grandson Ryan. Rather than flowers, please consider a donation in Paul's name be sent to a charity of your choice. Please join our family in celebrating Paul’s wonderful life on January 7th at 11:30 am at Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz.