When John M. Dillon became a district court judge in the 1960s, he said he was grateful for the trust the people of Redford Township had placed in him.
Those citizens re-elected him again and again and Dillon retired in 1992 as the court’s longest serving judge.
Dillon died Sept. 18 at his home after a long illness. He was 86.
After serving in the Army during World War II, Dillon returned to Detroit and received his law degree from the University of Detroit.
After years of private practice in Redford Township, he ran for justice of the peace in 1963 and was elected.
In 1968, the Michigan Legislature created the district court and Dillon ran for the bench.
He was the top vote getter among seven candidates and was reelected to the bench six times.
Dillon was a long-time member of the Society of Irish/American Lawyers.
Services were held Sept. 21 at St. Valentine Church in Redford Township with burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.
Dillon was survived by his wife, Janet; daughters Marybeth Dillon Butler, a writer and author, and Maureen Dillon Egan, a probate court clerk; sons John Jr., a dentist, and Andrew, attorney and Michigan state treasurer; and 14 grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Valentine Church or the Angela Hospice in Livonia.
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