Judge John Patrick Fullam died in March at age 96. A judge for more than 50 years, including nearly 45 on the federal bench, he was among the longest serving federal judges in history, said his family in a notice.
Fullam was born Dec. 10, 1921, in the family farmhouse in Gardenville, Bucks County. He enlisted in the Navy upon his graduation from Villanova University in the spring of 1942, at the age of 20. Upon his discharge from the Navy in April 1946 with the rank of lieutenant senior grade, Fullam attended Harvard Law School on the GI Bill. He joined the Bristol law firm of Eastburn, Begley and Fullam. His private practice included representing clients before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and service as court-appointed counsel in a death penalty case (resulting in a life sentence), among many other matters.
