Honorable John J. Rufe Service Information

The Honorable John J. Rufe, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County (ret.) died peacefully on Nov. 18, 2023 with his wife, Honorable Cynthia (Favata) Rufe at his side. The passing of Judge Rufe marks the loss of a kind and brilliant man who waged a long and valiant battle against Parkinsons Disease. He dedicated his life to public service and the law, living with integrity, grace and commitment to do as much as possible to improve the lives of others.

John Rufe, a native of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, attended Pennridge High School , graduating in 1957. Pennridge honored him with the Outstanding Alumna Award. He graduated from Lafayette College in 1962, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. Thereafter he attended Duke University School of Law and obtained his Juris Doctorate in 1965. He then returned to Bucks County, clerked for President Judge Edward G. Biester, served for three years as a Bucks County assistant district attorney, and then joined his brother, William Hart Rufe, III, in private practice.

In addition to practicing law, Judge Rufe became a leader in his community, serving as president for what was then called the Bucks County Association for Retarded Children (now BARC Developmental Services) and as an active member of the Pennridge Jaycees. He also served the legal community as president of the Legal Aid Society Advisory Board. For the Bucks County Bar Association, he served as president in 1985-1986. Under his presidency he formed the Past Presidents Council to provide guidance on Bar activities. His devotion to the Bar Association, and his love of sports is memorialized in the annual Honorable John J. Rufe Softball Classic for which he continued to call the balls and strikes at the 2023 game despite his severe physical challenges.

In 1989, Governor Robert Casey appointed Judge Rufe to the Bucks County bench, and in 1991, he was elected to a ten-year term and retained in 2001. Judge Rufe presided over criminal, civil, domestic, and dependency matters. As a newly installed judge, he volunteered to preside over the County’s asbestos liability litigation, replacing his predecessor Judge George T. Kelton in that role. He was particularly proud of his work presiding over the Bucks County Drug Court and over Dependency Court. In Drug Court, which he helped found in 2010, he presented its graduates, who completed a rigorous one or two-year program resulting in the dismissal of charges, not only with certificates of achievement but also with carved, decorated walking sticks that he personally handcrafted, reminding each graduate that the tall sturdy walking sticks were not to be used as a crutch, but as an aide to the graduates’ continued reliance on themselves in recovery. In Dependency Court he oversaw the placement of children from troubled homes into safer homes or programs. On the wall of Judge Rufe’s chambers hung a framed poem from a Temple University graduate who years after she was one of those children, wrote for his retirement in 2009:

“No way a few words

Compares to hundreds of kids

Positively affected by the gavel at his fingertips…

…But at a glance, I look and see

A man,

Who pushes aside his papers

To simply lean forward—

…And listen, listen to little ol’ me,

Seeing potential in me, a future, a life,

And granting that second chance……

Judge John Rufe was unfailingly courteous to lawyers and litigants. He was a calm, steady influence over others and exercised impeccable judgment. Judge Rufe will hold a place in the hearts of all those who worked with him, as well. No one left his courtroom feeling ignored or deprived of the opportunity to have their day. The Bucks County Bar Association recently recognized the life, dedication and professionalism of the Honorable John J. Rufe, his contributions to the Bucks County Bar Association, and to the profession of law and his community.

When appointed to the bench, he served with his brother, Judge William Hart Rufe, III. The judges Rufe were the only brothers to serve on the same bench at the same time in the history of the Pennsylvania Courts. The County bench became more of a family affair when, in 1999, Judge Rufe married then Judge Cynthia M. Weaver, the two of them becoming only the second married couple to be serving on the same bench in Pennsylvania. Judge Rufe had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s early in his tenure on the bench, but he carried a full caseload and, after mandatory retirement in 2009, sat as a senior judge until age of 78.

Judge Rufe is survived by his devoted wife, Federal District Court Judge Cynthia M. Rufe, by his beloved children and stepchildren Katharine Kirsten “Keri” Rufe, Kristin Leigh McGee (Matthew), Amy Elizabeth Rufe (John Kruempelstaedter), Tiffany Marie Alexander, Esquire (Stephen G), and Meredith Anne Fields (Christopher Paul Fields), and by his grandchildren Quinn Francis Aleardi, Elizabeth Marie Alexander, Christina Grace Alexander, Emerson Jeannette McGee, McKenna Katherine McGee and Nathaniel Hunter Fields. He is also survived by Brothers William Hart, Rufe III (Jewel), and Robert Grim Rufe (Mary Louise). He was predeceased by his parents William Harold Rufe and Frances Appenzeller Rufe, and by his sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Samuel Jackson.

Judge Rufe was an avid sportsman, spending time with friends fishing in Labrador, skiing in the Alps or hitting golf and tennis balls. He was a strong runner, but later in life he settled for body surfing at the Jersey shore. He loved culture, and enjoyed travel with his wife and excursions to Broadway. A handsome man with elegant sartorial taste, he was noted for his many exquisite ties, which he annually donated to his family every Holiday brunch. Judge Rufe was also an historian with a keen interest in the country’s formative conflicts- the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. And every July 4th, he read the Declaration of Independence aloud, teaching each of his six grandchildren the importance of the democratic principals that formed our nation, which he loved.

A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, January 12, 2023 at 3:00 PM in the Ceremonial Courtroom at the Bucks County Justice Center, 100 North Main Street, Doylestown, PA  Interment was private. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Friends Nursing Home at Chandler Hall, 99 Barclay St. Newtown, PA 18940 or Bucks for Kids (www.bucksforkids.org), PO Box 1711 Doylestown, PA 18901.

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