L.A. Judge Ronald Swearinger, 66, Dies After Surgery

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald E. Swearinger, whose taste for law was whetted by the time he spent as a young journalist covering courts, died Monday.

His son, Richard, said his father had died after quintuple bypass surgery at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank.

Swearinger, 66, was appointed to the Municipal Court in 1972 by Gov. Ronald Reagan and elevated to the Superior Court two years later.

He served in various divisions of Superior Court. He also served twice as a justice pro tempore on the 2nd District Court of Appeal.

Swearinger grew up in Seattle. Upon graduation from high school, where he had covered high school sports for a local newspaper, he enlisted in the Army Air Force in 1943.

After World War II, he attended the University of Washington but was recalled to duty for the Korean War. He served until 1953 as an intelligence officer.

He retired from the Air Force Reserve as a colonel and in 1977 was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by President Gerald R. Ford.

He earned his law degree at the USC in 1958.

Swearinger was the author of “Patterns of Russian Aggression,� published in 1950 and based on his intelligence work, and co-author of “A Guide to Air Force Writing,� published in 1951.

He also is survived by his wife, Patricia, and another son, William. Funeral services are set for Thursday at 3 p.m. at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery.