"Among his peers, he was thought to be a real scholar, a genuine scholar. He served as president judge of the superior court for many years. He was certainly well-regarded for taking on high volumes of cases. He was very friendly and he was just highly respected, not only by his colleagues but by members of the bar," said Common Pleas Judge Jerome A. Zaleski.
"His decisions were very erudite and frequently cited by judges throughout the commonwealth. He was very affable," said Zaleski. "He made lawyers arguing before him very comfortable. He was not pompous and had a reputation for probity and very high standards. He was never rude or in any way condescending to any of the lawyers who appeared before him."
Cirillo was a very able trial attorney. As a prosecutor, Cirillo won the murder conviction of Elmo Smith, who killed and raped a 16-year-old Montgomery County girl in 1962.
Cirillo was a 1951 cum laude graduate of Villanova University. He received his law degree from Temple University in 1955. He was an Army veteran of the Korean War.
Over the years, Cirillo received numerous awards including the Legion of Honor of the Chapel of the Four Chaplains in 1985, Man of the Year of the Catholic War Veterans in 1974-75 and Man of the Year of the Optimist Club of Norristown in 1978.
Survivors include his wife, the former Beatrice D'Orazio; two sons, Vincent A. Jr. and Gregory F., both attorneys; a daughter, Victoria Cirillo, a doctor; a sister, Marie Stumpo; and six grandchildren.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul, 18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Burial will be in Ss. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Marple Township.
Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at the Robert L. D'Anjolell Memorial Home of Broomall, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall.
Contributions may be made to the Vincent A. Cirillo Cancer Fund, c/o Dr. Steve Cohen, 933 Haverford Road, Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010 or the Judge Vincent A. Cirillo Scholarship Fund, c/o Villanova University School of Law, 299 N. Spring Mill Road, Villanova, Pa. or the Vincent A. Cirillo Scholarship Fund, c/o Temple University Beasley School of Law, 1719 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19122, Office of the Dean: Robert J. Reinstein.
Sarah-Nancy
Fleming Jenkins
Sarah-Nancy Fleming Jenkins, an educator and department head at the Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont and an attorney, died Nov. 18. She was 77 and lived in Devon.
Jenkins taught at Agnes Irwin for more than 30 years and was named head of the history department in 1969.
At age 66, after retiring from teaching, she fulfilled a longtime dream by attending Temple University School of Law and received her juris doctorate in 1992. She was inducted into the Supreme Court of Pennsyvania on the motion of her brother, attorney R. Stuart Jenkins, in 1994 and joined the firm of Jenkins, Jenkins and Jenkins in Media. She practiced labor and constitutional law.
Agnes Irwin faculty member and friend Martha R. Goppelt, said Jenkins "had tremendous energy. When she would give a course - she taught renaissance literature and history - she would dress as one of the characters."
According to Goppelt, Margaret Penney Moss, the headmistress of Agnes Irwin, would marvel at how Jenkins would walk into a classroom "already lecturing." Goppelt said, "Miss Moss' conclusion was that she must have started lecturing on her way to the classroom."
Goppelt described Jenkins as "a witty conversationalist and a faithful friend." She said Jenkins' circles of friends were diverse, from educators to bridge players to lawyers.
Jenkins was a championship-caliber bridge player who won the championship trophy two consecutive years in the 1960s when competing in the Main Line Invitational Amateur Bridge League.
She loved to follow politics and was, recalled Goppelt, fascinated by the close presidential race up until a day or two before she died.
Born in Pittsburgh and raised in Drexel Hill, she graduated with honors from Upper Darby High School and attended the University of Pennsylvania on a full academic scholarship, receiving her degree in 1944 as a distinguished graduate. She received her master's degree in social studies and English at Penn in 1945.
She received a full scholarship to Penn's law school but after one year left to pursue a career in education. Her first position was at an Episcopal boarding school in Burlington, N.J. and then a private school in Massachusetts. In the summer of 1961, she studied economics at the Renselaer Polytechnic Institute on a grant from the General Electric Foundation.
Survivors include two nieces, Mary Stuart Jenkins and Ann T. Rizzo and a nephew, David Stuart Taylor Jenkins.
A Memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Ave., Bryn Mawr.
William E. West Jr.
William E. West Jr., a retired social worker, died Monday. He was 67 and lived in West Oak Lane.
West worked for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 30 years. The last 20 years he was assigned at the Youth Development Center in Bensalem. He retired in 1990.
Born in Wilmington, Del., West, known as "Billy," received a degree in sociology from Morgan State College in Baltimore.
"He was the epitome of a gentleman. He was my best friend and a wonderful husband and companion," said his wife, the former Grace Hunter. "He was loved by all who met him. He was just a great guy."
West enjoyed reading, bowling, crabbing and fishing.
Survivors also include two sons, Billy and Gregory; a daughter, Brenda R. Jett; his mother, Margaret C. West; a sister, Patricia Dorman Turner; four stepdaughters, Sheila, Iris, Paula and Debra; three stepsons, Robert, Van and Jay and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Choice Funeral Home, 2530 N. Broad St., where friends may call two hours earlier. Burial will be in Chelten Hills Cemetery.
