Reception held to honor former Butler County judge Patricia Oney

Oney, who was elected in 1998 and was the county’s first female common pleas general trial judge, submitted her letter of retirement on Dec. 21 to the other six judges as well as Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Conner and Gov. John Kasich.

“It has been with great pleasure that I have served the citizens of Butler County as a Common Pleas Judge since 1999, and I regret that will not complete my term, which ends on Jan. 1, 2017,” Oney wrote in the letters.

Oney, 73, was not able to run for a fourth six-year term due to age limitations. Ohio law prevents election to a judgeship after the age of 70.

The courtroom was packed for a short ceremony and more came and went during a two-hour reception.

Butler County Common Pleas Judge Noah Powers remembered knowing “Pat” as both a lawyer and a judge.

“We owe her a debt of gratitude for her 37 years of dedicated service to the Butler County legal community,” Powers said.

She received a standing ovation from judges, attorneys, courthouse employees and elected officials. The crowd was also enthusiastic about the revealing of her portrait. It’s tradition in Butler County that portraits of former judges hang in their courtrooms.

Oney, an Oxford resident, grew up in West Virginia, but did not begin her adult life as a law student. The eldest daughter of a physician, Oney earned her first degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1965 in microbiology and a master’s degree from the University of Kentucky in bacteriology in 1970. In 1975, she took up law, earning a degree from the University of Cincinnati.

Oney began her legal career as an assistant public defender in Montgomery County, then moved on to private practice for 20 years in Butler County. Her first judgeship was in Area I Court in Oxford, where she served from 1993 to 1999 before moving to her post in common pleas court.

Oney’s husband is a retired dentist, and they have one son and grandchildren.

Gardening and taking care of her menagerie of animals, including peacocks, are activities Oney said she will pursue in her retirement.

She has just a few words for those who offered a “happy retirement.”

“Thank you very much,” Oney said.