Justice Frank J. Montemuro, Jr. was born in Philadelphia on October 27, 1925. A product of Temple University and Duke University Law School, Montemuro served in the US Navy, during World War II. He was stationed in occupied Northeast China after the war.
Montemuro began his judicial service in 1964 and was elected Administrative Judge of Philadelphia’s 20-member Family Court in 1968. He was appointed to the Superior Court in 1980 and elected to a full ten-year term in 1983. He has served as the Chairman of the Domestic Relations Committee (Pennsylvania State Trial Judges) and both the State and National President of the Sons of Italy.
Governor Robert Casey appointed Montemuro to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, where he served as Senior Justice from 1992 to 1996. He returned to the Superior Court in 1997 as a Senior Judge. After traveling throughout the Commonwealth, as an appointed Special Master, Montemuro forwarded an Interim Report on the Transition to State Funding for the Unified Judicial System (1997) to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He was tasked with researching the potential unification of Pennsylvania’s Court system. Montemuro, and his team members, recommended a four-phase approach to consolidate judicial activities and tasks under one court umbrella. In 2001, Montemuro was also named as the Chair of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, by the Supreme Court. Senior Justice Montemuro retired from court activities at the end of 2005.
Justice Montemuro was awarded the Papal Honor of Knight Commander by Pope John Paul II and thrice decorated by the President of Italy. He passed away at the age of 86 on March 29, 2012 in Newtown, Pennsylvania.