Citizen Staff Writer
A.J. FLICK
ajflick@tucsoncitizen.com
Services for James P. Angiulo, known as “Judge Jim” of Pima County Consolidated Justice Court, are set for Friday.
Mr. Angiulo, 61, died Sunday at his Tucson home of brain cancer.
Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at Bring’s Funeral Home, 6910 E. Broadway.
Services will be Friday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 1800 N. Camino Pio Decimo.
In addition to his law career, Mr. Angiulo was an anesthesiologist who came to Tucson in 1975 to teach at the University of Arizona, said Steve Nash, executive director of the Pima County Medical Society.
In 1977, Mr. Angiulo left his teaching duties to head a group of anesthesiologsts to provide services for the new Kino Community Hospital.
In 1985, while still running the anesthesiologist program at Kino, Mr. Angiulo earned his UA law degree in 1985. After passing the bar exam on his first try, he began practicing law with his father.
Mr. Angiulo still served as administrator of the anesthesiologist group and continued practicing, Nash said.
“He was called in on the very complex cases,” Nash said.
Mr. Angiulo served on the county Medical Society Board in the early 1990s and was elected president in 1996, Nash said.
In the late 1990s, Mr. Angiulo became speaker of the house for the Arizona Medical Association, Nash said.
During his run for speaker of the house, Mr. Angiulo was being introduced to the membership by someone who admitted she didn’t know how to pronounce or spell his name.
“It’s the usual spelling of Angiulo,” Mr. Angiulo quipped, according to Nash.
“He had a great sense of humor,” Nash said.
In 2000, when Mr. Angiulo retired from medicine, the Pima County Medical Society named him Physician of the Year.
“It’s a pat on the back for a hard-working doctor who has contributed to medicine and the community,” Nash said.
“He was very well liked and an original thinker, who got to the nub of the thing,” Nash said.
“He was an excellent administrator in medicine as well as courts,” Nash added.
Mr. Angiulo was appointed justice of the peace pro tem at Justice Court in 1985 and in 1995 was appointed presiding judge at Sahuarita Municipal Court.
He was elected to Justice Court in 2002 and voted presiding judge by his colleagues in 2005. He was re-elected in 2006. He ran unopposed both times.
Mr. Angiulo retired from medicine in 2000, but kept his medical license up to date.
He is survived by his wife, Nina; daughter Jaime Avery; and sons Michael and Matthew Angiulo.
Services for James P. Angiulo set for Friday