FIRST PUBLIC DEFENDER IN KERN COUNTY PASSES AWAY AT 83

An attorney who was Kern County’s first Public Defender has died at 83.

A news release from the family of Willard Weddell says the Navy veteran actually survived the attack on Pearl Harbor when he was a child living in base housing at Hickam Field, Hawaii. Weddell led the Public Defender’s Office for 26 years.

There are no plans for a public memorial.

SuzG