CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hearts remained heavy in Charleston Monday following the death of longtime Kanawha County Circuit Judge Joanna Tabit.
Tabit died Friday at the age of 62 after battling cancer.
Black drapes were hung outside the Kanawha County Judicial Building Monday.
Evan Osborne, executive director of Capital Market, said Tabit left a mark in the community.
“There is a Joanna Tabit-sized hole left in Charleston, but we are all better off for the opportunity and I think that’s what’s important,” Osborne said on Monday’s “580 Live” heard on MetroNews flagship station 580-WCHS.
Tabit had served in her role as circuit judge since 2014. Those who knew her said she was fair, passionate and treated everyone with respect.
“I think everyone has a takeaway from the legacy that she left, but the one that’s always resonated with me is you can be a lot of things, but be kind,” Osborne said.
Kanawha County Board of Education member Ric Cavender, also a guest on Monday’s “580” Live,” said he knew Tabit for years and heard of her passing on Facebook Friday afternoon.
“Judge Tabit has been a friend of mine since I first ran for school board in 2016. That’s when I first met her,” he said. “I’ll always remember our conversations fondly. She was such a light in this community and she’s so very missed.”
Tabit was elected to a full term in 2016 and the ran for state Supreme Court in both 2018 and 2020. Senior Status Judge Jim Rowe has been temporarily hearing Tabit’s cases in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said Tabit was not only committed to public service, she genuinely wanted to see people succeed, whether it was a young lawyer or someone in the judicial system.
“She really wanted the best for all people. She wanted to be fair, she wanted to hold people accountable, but she loved this city and loved this state,” the mayor said on “580 Live” Monday.
Goodwin said Tabit always lead by example and that’s something the people of Charleston and West Virginia can learn from.
“I think the thing that we can all do to honor Judge Tabit is to try to be more like her — to listen, to understand, to not rush to judgement, to treat people with kindness and be more like how she would react to things,” she said.
Former Charleston City Councilman and Tabit’s friend Andy Richardson said the family plans to create a new foundation in her honor to benefit juvenile drug court.
“Her family hopes to set up a foundation — the Judge Santa Foundation — because the juvenile drug court participants would call her Judge Santa because she would go above and beyond to help them get their lives turned around in the right directions,” Richardson said on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Tabit’s family has requested contributions be made to the new foundation in lieu of flowers. Checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 11814, Charleston, WV, 25339.
“We want to continue the legacy that Joanna established during her lifetime,” Richardson said.
Tabit’s funeral is expected to take place sometime later this week.