Aug 16, 2013 2 min read

When District Judge Robert C. Wyda passed away Aug. 5, at the age of 54, the world lost a man dedicated to his family, his country and his job. He had a big heart and, ultimately, his death was attributed to “natural causes due to cardiac history.”

Wyda, an attorney, not only served the communities of Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair Township as a district judge-first elected in 2000-but he served in the U.S. Naval Reserves from 2003-08.

His dedication to community and country was remembered by those who knew him well including a U.S. congressman, and local public officials.

One Bethel Park Councilman, Jack Allen, said Wyda was “the most fair person anyone could go in front of.”

An Upper St. Clair Commissioner, Russell Del Re, described Wyda as a “down-to-earth fair person.”

Married and the father of two children, Wyda had to deal with a variety of cases as he sat during hearings in his black robes in his Bethel Park office. His decisions were probably made using his background in the military and the law, but also as a compassionate being who faced life’s challenges like everyone else as a husband and father.

Not everyone was happy with the outcome of the hearings, but Wyda, to the best of his ability, made fair decisions.

Robert Wyda was a man whose time on this Earth was too short. In his case it’s true, the good die young.

He will be missed by the community; he will be missed by his friends.

But most of all, he will be missed by his wife and his two children.