John Miller Paternoster died Dec. 26, 2024 at age 78 while recovering from heart surgery. He served as a state prosecutor in three judicial districts, an assistant attorney general, municipal court judge in Eagle Nest, district attorney in Taos, and as a judge in 8th Judicial District Court. He was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson in 2006 to the 8th Judicial Court and was re-elected twice before retiring in 2015. Paternoster also worked as a private attorney during the course of his nearly 40-year legal career.
He helped design the Raton Judicial Center/Courthouse and his friends and colleagues, knew him as an intellectual and an expert litigator, and he was adamant about judicial processes.
When he retired, Paternoster reflected on his career, telling the Taos News, “If I’ve had success at saving a young man or young woman from drugs, I’m extremely thankful.”
Paternoster and his identical twin brother Mark, were born Aug. 21, 1946 in Cooperstown, New York, and moved to New Mexico when they were 16 years old. Paternoster earned a geology degree at the University of New Mexico, then obtained his law degree at Gonzaga University. His first post was assistant district attorney in Clovis.
Paternoster was preceded in death by his parents, Rebecca and Francis Paternoster, his brother Mark and sister Andrea Paternoster. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Pamela Paternoster of Raton.
At his request, there will be no funeral service or celebration of life for John Paternoster.
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