Peter Statler known for his compassion as a judge

Peter Statler's advice to his sons about fatherhood was you can't always make the right decision, but you can be there for your family.

Daniel Statler knows his father practiced what he preached, even though Peter Statler could have tried to forge a high-powered legal career that would have taken him across the country.

"Reflecting on my childhood, that's very consistent with what he did. He was there," Daniel Statler said. "He was there, and that was a big deal. It was always nice to know Dad was there. He was quite the patriarch of the family. He was a very good father and very kind man."

Longtime area judge Peter Statler died Sunday in Jackson at age 74.

Judge Scott Lipke said Statler's creation of Cape Girardeau County's drug court allowed parents to be there for their children.

Associate Circuit Judge Peter Statler explains options to a woman during a civil-suit case in 2009 at the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

"By him starting the drug court program, he's left his mark on countless numbers of lives that have been changed for the better," Lipke said. "It's allowed individuals to be reunited with their children so it's not a cycle from generation to generation. ... For him to be willing to take that on that program ... we're much better off today."

Statler was married to wife, Judy, for 49 years, and they had three sons: Matt, Daniel and Travis.

He was an associate judge in Cape Girardeau County from 1994 to 2010. He took over as municipal judge in Jackson after he stepped down from the state bench in 2010.

He also was part of the Statler law firm with his sons, Daniel and Travis.

Statler largely followed the same path as his father, W. Osler Statler, to a career as a lawyer and judge. After serving in World War II, W. Osler Statler was appointed a circuit judge in Cape Girardeau County in 1959. After serving in the Vietnam War, Peter Statler practiced law while his father served on the bench.

"It's a family-tradition situation," Daniel Statler said. "We grew up with Dad being a local lawyer and judge. ... As a child, it seemed like he was respected and liked."

Peter Statler did not push his sons toward law as a profession, however. Matt works as a business professor at New York University.

"It wasn't forced; it wasn't encouraged," Daniel Statler said. "You do what you want to do; you follow your own path."

Peter Statler's fellow judges said he approached the job with enthusiasm and passion.

Judge Gary Kamp, elected to the post in 1994 and who knew him since childhood, said he could not remember a lawyer having a complaint about Statler.

"He was a good, kind-hearted person, and he was honest," Kamp said. "He was just one of those people you miss. He was a good colleague whenever we were on the bench. ... I miss Pete. I missed him whenever he left the bench."

Judge Benjamin Lewis wrote in an email Peter Statler had compassion when dealing with people in harrowing situations such as rent and possession, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, guardianships, mental health and descendants estates.

"Judge Statler was my friend and colleague for over 30 years. He was relentlessly cheerful, which was amazing, given that he had an assignment dealing with thousands of cases that were relentlessly depressing," Lewis wrote. "These are not cases where you see people at their best, but Pete knew that every case was important to every person involved."

Lipke said Statler's tutelage when he took over the probate position in Cape Girardeau was crucial for him.

"Nobody comes into this job being an expert in all facets of that, you have to learn on the job, but I was able to get a better start, I believe, because of the time he spent with me and the patience he had with me," Lipke said.

Daniel Statler said it meant a lot to his father when he got a call from Judge Stephen Limbaugh after Peter was elected in 1994. Limbaugh also served as a probate judge.

"He was a traditional-values family man if there ever was one," Limbaugh said, "and he lived it."

bkleine@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address: 1001 N. Mount Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau, MO