The Judge

Pete Riddle served on the California Superior Court for the County of San Diego from 1987 through 2000. His assignments included Probate, Civil Litigation, Juvenile Delinquency, and Juvenile Dependency. He derived his greatest satisfaction from his work on cases that helped neglected and abused children.

The following are notes from attorneys who posted on a San Diego estate planning list serve about their courtroom experiences with Pete:

Judge Peter Riddle was our Probate Judge in the 80s and early 90s, and a colleague before that. He was a class act in judicial temperament and decision-making, as well as a friend and mentor to everyone. For those of you who never had the chance to know him or appear before him in court, you truly missed an excellent judge and person.  - Daniel B. Crabtree 

Absolutely a great guy and colleague. As funny and bright as he was tall!    - Dick Thorn

I agree. I had a trial in front of him, and he was always a gentleman.  - Cheryl Edwards Tannenberg

The best - hands down!  - Daniel F. Morrin, Esq.

Pete's death is sad news indeed. He had the perfect judicial temperament and was funny to boot. We were lucky to have known him.   - Tom Henry

I did a jury trial before him when will contests were jury trials. One of my favorite judges ever. - Scott Cole

He was remarkably good.  The first judge I ever appeared before, and a class act.  - Ricky Maveety

Sad news.  A great gentleman.  - Richard McCue

Very sad news indeed.  Pete was a great guy.  He was a big man (6'5" or so) and had been a Navy SEAL in his younger days.  As a lawyer and judge, he was careful and studious and he was a very good friend.  We are lessened by his loss.  - Jack G. Charney

Go Bulldogs!

Pete played tight end for the Yale football team through the 1959 season. Here's a recollection from classmate and teammate Alvin Puryear, Ph.D.:

Since Pete played end and I was a tackle, we were side-by-side on both offense and defense, in practices and in games.  Thus we were together for several hours a day from September through November. 

When Yale had the football, the tackles called the blocking assignments at the line of scrimmage for each play.  For the tackles and ends, a "Don" call meant that the tackle and end executed a double-team block; for a "Charlie" call, the tackle and end executed a cross-block, etc.  

The coaches would provide these calls for each week's opponent.On several occasions during games, Pete and I would confer quickly (in seconds, not minutes) in the huddle before the next play, and change the calls provided by the coaches.  On reflection, only Yale athletes could pull off that feat! 

From left to right in 1959: Pete Riddle, Art LaVallie, Dick Winkler, and Harry Olivar in the coffee table book A Bowl Full of Memories: 100 Years of Football at the Yale Bowl

Classmate Barry Schaller, a retired Connecticut Supreme Court Justice who teaches at Yale Law School, also remembered Pete's humility, despite his BMOC (Big Man on Campus) status:

Our classmates remember his effort and courage on the football field (a fact that he always modestly played down -- by saying that his was all effort and no skill -- but I doubt that). He was much admired and a big star. Of course, his Navy [SEAL] days brought more admiration...and then his work with juveniles. He was always so modest, unassuming, a good listener, always engaged in what others were saying....

After Pete retired, I learned that he would go to -- was it a children's hospital? -- and sit down to play with and talk with the children. Another wonderful portrait of his generous spirit, playful personality, and good heart. 

The Whiting Grandchildren Remember Snowballs, Forts, and "Tricky" Moves

The evening ritual with Matthew, Samantha, Kyle, and Tyler

My favorite memory with grandad is throwing a baseball with my Micheal Young signed baseball glove. He would always throw the ball behind his back and say "Grandad is very tricky." We would laugh and play catch for a long time.                 -Samantha Whiting, 12

With Samantha, 2007

My favorite memory with Grandad is playing a game called "pickle" in the front yard. It is a baseball game where we would throw the baseball back and forth trying to tag the runner out. These games would last a very long time and we would play every single time we visited. Grandad would always do some tricky move and then say "Remember, Grandad is very tricky" (this was his most famous quote). We shared lots of laughs and had a lot of fun playing in the front yard. This is one of the most memorable experiences I had with Grandad and something I'll never forget.        -Tyler Whiting, 17

 

Matthew, Chris Nichols, Tyler, Kyle, and Samantha (showing them who's boss), 2014

I will never forget the time when Grandad visited us over Christmas and it snowed. We had a huge snowball fight and he built forts for all of us. His primary concern in the midst of all the throwing and running was of course our safety. He truly knew how to make any situation enjoyable and had a genuine care for our well-being.     - Matthew Whiting, 17

 

With Matthew, 2006

One of the best memories I had of Grandad was constantly playing "pickle" with him outside. Whether it was the park, the beach, or just outside of the house, we would always have such a fun time throwing baseballs around and running back and forth between the two bases. This is where he first used the phrase, "Grandad is always VERY tricky," as he would try to trick us by pretending to throw the baseball. All of us loved it when he did this, and he made it his catchphrase whenever we were with him. This is just one of the many memories that the best grandad in the world gave us, and I will miss him so much.  -Kyle Whiting, 15

 

With Kyle, 2014

                             

Announcement to the UDT/SEAL Association

While Pete resided in the memory care unit of the Coronado Retirement Village, RADM Cathal Flynn visited several times a week and escorted him to swim workouts on the Naval Amphibious Base. 

The following is an announcement to the UDT/SEAL Association, written by Rear Adm. Flynn, a friend of 50 years who also served in SEAL Team ONE, at left in the photo below:

                                   

With deep regret we report the death last Wednesday, March 4^th, of Captain Peter E. Riddle, USNR (Ret.), from the effects of Lewy-body dementia, a cruelly progressive disorder he had endured with great courage, good humor, and dignity for the past several years. Throughout his ordeal, he displayed a SEAL’s determination to “make the best of it, with no whining.”

Pete played football with the Bulldogs of Yale University and was a member of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps. Commissioned in June 1960, he first served on a destroyer, then was ordered to Underwater Demolition Basic Training Class 28 in Coronado.  On graduation in June 1962, he was assigned to UDT Twelve, one of two Coronado Teams, and served as a platoon officer until 1964. As a junior officer he was notable for his height, the tallest man in the Teams, his conscientious application to learning the Navy frogman profession, and exceptional self-control. That last quality saved his life when, during an underwater hull search of a moored cruiser for limpet mines, he was pulled against the grill of a negligently operating sea water intake; the force of water ripped away his face mask and scuba mouthpiece. But he coolly held his breath until his teammates got the intake secured and he could then swim to the surface.  Telling about this near-catastrophe, his emphasis was on a Chief Petty Officer’s dry remark, “You shouldn’t have pretended to be an abalone, Mr. Riddle!”

Pete detached from active duty in 1964, earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago law school and was admitted to the Bar in 1967. He then returned to active duty in SEAL Team One, with the understanding that he would be sent to Vietnam. Accordingly, he was deployed as Officer in Charge of SEALs assigned to Naval Advisory Detachment, MACV-SOG, then engaged in classified special operations throughout Vietnam, for which the Detachment was later awarded the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation. At that time, his superiors wrote of his exceptional professionalism, competence, determination, unfailing good humor in demanding circumstances, and exemplary ethics.

Having served effectively in Vietnam, Pete again detached from active duty, but continued to serve in the Naval Reserve, including assignments in UDT/SEAL Pacific Team 119 and Naval Special Warfare Group One Detachment 119.

Throughout his active and Reserve service, Pete Riddle was respected and liked by all for his leadership, fairness, kindness, and all-round professionalism. He maintained SEAL-level fitness as a Masters swimmer and triathlete. His sterling qualities were also apparent in his civilian profession, first in law practice, then as a Judge of the San Diego Municipal Court from which he was promoted to the Superior Court. In the opinion of his fellow SEALS, “The Honorable” was an appropriate form of address for Pete Riddle, a true gentleman who will be sorely missed.