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Brazelton services are set for Saturday

James Brazelton

By BEE STAFF REPORTS

last updated: September 12, 2007 05:17:17 AM

JAMES BRAZELTON BIO

BORN: Sept. 3, 1941

DIED: Sept. 10, 2007

FAMILY: Wife, Patricia; three sons and a stepson

PERSONAL: Graduated from Bakersfield High School at age 16. Spent a year in junior college. He then enlisted in the Army and worked in the Military Police, assigned to the White House. Discharged in 1962.

PROFESSIONAL: Joined Bakersfield Police Department in 1963; promoted to detective in 1965. Joined Orange Police Department in 1968. Attended Western State University, College of Law, Anaheim. Received law degree in 1973 and passed bar exam in 1974. Left Orange police in 1974, and subsequently worked as an attorney in Orange County for 11 years, handling family law, personal injury, and some business law and criminal defense. Joined Stanislaus County district attorney's office in 1985. Appointed district attorney in March 1996 to finish the term of Don Stahl, who retired. Sent five people to death row during his career. Retired in July 2005 to take a job in the private sector.

Former Stanislaus County District Attorney James Brazelton will be laid to rest Saturday, after a funeral at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto, his family announced Tuesday.

Brazelton died suddenly from natural causes Monday afternoon at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. His death at 66 came as a shock to friends and colleagues, particularly because the former prosecutor put in a full day at a Modesto law firm Friday.

Brazelton was a police officer who became a lawyer and rose to the top of the heap, serving as the county's top prosecutor for nine years.

He resigned in July 2005, during his third term, to work for a private firm that runs a bad-check collection program. In July, he set up an office at Moorad, Clark and Stewart, a firm that handles civil matters.

He was a Civil War buff and loved genealogy.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia; and three sons and a stepson.

The rosary will be at 6 p.m. Friday at the McHenry Chapel of Franklin & Downs. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Lakewood Memorial Park, Hughson.

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