CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A longtime Kanawha County circuit judge has died.
Word of the death of Paul Zakaib, who retired in 2014, began to circulate around the Kanawha County Judicial Annex Wednesday morning.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Duke Bloom said Zakaib was soft-spoken but decisive.
“The last case I tried before I went on the bench was before Judge Zakaib and it was really a good example for me of just what you want to be as a judge,” Bloom remembered. “Decisive, thoughtful, careful, he was all of that, fair and impartial.”
All five justices that sit on the West Virginia Supreme Court praised Zakaib in a Wednesday news release. Justice John Hutchison called Zakaib “a mentor and a friend.”
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said Zakaib was a role model as a judge.
“I had the privilege of serving on his first election committee, appearing before him in court, and later working with him (as county commissioner.) My wife Debbie and I always respected and admired the judge and his family,” Carper said.
Carper credits Zakaib for overhauling the county’s mental hygiene office.
“Judge Zakaib had a particular interest in a group of people who have few true advocates and are too often marginalized; his leadership improved the legal for them,” Carper said.
Zakaib served four terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates before being appointed judge in 1986. He retired five years ago and was replaced by Judge Joanna Tabit. At his retirement, Zakaib talked about how a good judge hears courteously, answers wisely, considers soberly and decides impartially. Bloom said that perfectly described Zakaib.
“That’s exactly who he was. That was the creed he lived by and we’re all going to miss that,” Bloom said.
State flags on county grounds will fly at half-staff and black ribbons will be displayed at the county courthouse and judicial annex.
Zakaibl’s death marks the second longtime Kanawha County circuit judge to die this year. Jim Stucky passed away in March.
“Two judges that I learned from and respected when I was a practicing lawyer and continued to learn from as a colleague,” Bloom said. “It’s tough on the bar of Kanawha County, it really is. It’s a great loss.”
Funeral arrangements for Zakaib have not been finalized.