John S. Pasco ’52 died on Nov. 26, 2015. He leaves behind his wife of 63 years, Beverlee. He is preceded in death by his first child Patricia Ann, survived by daughter Susan, son John Jr. J.D. ’85, daughter Janet Kittleson (Tom) and grandchildren Courtney Pasco, Kelsey Pasco ’19, Kyle Pasco, Beau Kittleson and Haley Kittleson. He is fondly remembered by his family as a loving husband, a great father and an adoring grandfather "big poppa".
John was born on December 15, 1930 to Stephan and Mary Pasco in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Mt. Carmel High School, where he played football. He received a football scholarship to Santa Clara University where he played from 1948-1952. He was fortunate to quarterback the 1950 Broncos to victory in the Orange Bowl at the age of 19. This would be one of many victories for John in his life.
After receiving his degree from Santa Clara in 1952, John married his college sweetheart, Beverlee Martella of San Jose. The next week, he was commissioned to serve his country in the Korean war as a 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Artillery Unit. He spent a year in Korea and returned to enter Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1954. John graduated from Loyola in 1957 as president of his law school class. He passed the bar in November, 1957 and shortly thereafter set up his private law practice. John practiced law for 29 years in San Jose. He was appointed to the bench in 1985 as a municipal court judge. In 1994 he was called to the Superior Court where he remained until his retirement in 1999.
John was a grateful alumnus of Santa Clara University. He was one of the original founders of the Bronco Bench Foundation at Santa Clara that was established to provide scholarships to athletes. He also volunteered his time coaching football at Santa Clara for 19 years under head coach Pat Malley. John was inducted into the Santa Clara University Hall of Fame in 1977.
John enjoyed his retirement, traveling with Beverlee to Europe seven times, watching grandchildren and spending time at the beach in Rio Del Mar. John was a modest, honest man – kind and gentle to all and his generosity knew no bounds. He will be greatly missed.