Joseph Flores, the Toledo-born son of Mexican immigrants who became a community activist and a longtime local judge, died early yesterday after more than a year-long battle with liver cancer. He was 69.

Judge Flores was arguably one of the most revered individuals in the local Hispanic community, if not the most revered, friends and colleagues said. For more than two decades, Judge Flores presided in a Toledo courtroom - first as a judge in Toledo Municipal Court and most recently as a judge in Lucas County Juvenile Court.

He never strayed far from his Latino roots, immersing himself in issues and organizations that supported the Hispanic culture and earning him respect and admiration among Latinos throughout Northwest Ohio. He often used Spanish, learned from his parents, to communicate to Hispanic clients and later to defendants while on the bench.

“If you needed something done or someone to support an idea, he was the person to go to,” said Sylvia Muniz-Mutchler, a longtime family friend whose husband, Alan, was one of his former law partners. “As far as we know, he was the first Latino judge in the state, and our community was so proud of what he accomplished. He was always a friend and mentor to me.”

James Ray, a Lucas County Juvenile Court administrative judge, said Judge Flores was a friend who helped him build a new juvenile justice center and youth treatment center.

“We communicated and collaborated on everything,” Judge Ray said. “A lot of times when you have more than one judge, there tend to be rivalries, suspicions, and arguments. We never had any of that.”

Judge Ray called Judge Flores an intelligent, compassionate, and firm jurist. He said Judge Flores took an interest in the juveniles who came before him and not only tried to find the best legal solution, but the best social solution for them as well.

“He was very good at that,” Judge Ray said. “He showed respect to a lot of the young people, but if they responded to him with disrespect, he lowered the boom, and he was very firm about that.”

Judge Flores was born in 1934 and grew up on Toledo's east side as the youngest of seven children, working in tomato and onion fields and selling newspapers as a child to finance his education.

“We gave my mother the money to save for us,” he recalled in a 1981 interview with The Blade. “My parents always instilled the idea of education in us. ... My mother didn't have a day of schooling, and my father had about five years.”

He graduated in 1952 from Waite High School, where he was president of the National Honor Society. He attended the University of Notre Dame.

When he won the juvenile court bench post in 1990 - a newly created position at the time - he chose the Waite auditorium for his swearing in. Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Doneghy, Judge Flores' former law partner and longtime friend, administered the oath that day.

“When folks talk about role models, it's usually about something that someone has done,” Judge Doneghy said. “But he was a role model because he served. And without asking for it, he became someone who was emulated.”

Judge Flores became a voice in the Hispanic community after returning from a stint in the U.S. Navy, where he met his wife, Mary Jane (Poirier), a navy nurse.

They married in 1964 and returned to Ohio - first to Findlay, and in 1966 to Toledo.

During the late 1960s, when the city's racial tensions reached a combustible level, Mr. Flores worked behind the scenes to restore calm with local Hispanics who were caught up in the anger and fear.

“He never really talked about it,” said his sister, Mary Flores Ward. “He kept quiet about that work.”

At the time, the graduate of Ohio Northern University's law school was building a reputation as a solid defense attorney. Mr. Flores earned a reputation as an attorney who could be trusted by all sides: his clients, opposing prosecutors, and presiding judges, said James Bates, then a young prosecutor and now a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge.

“He was very effective with a jury, narrowing a case to a single issue for them,” said Judge Bates, who in 1977 faced Mr. Flores in a murder trial.

His first bid for the bench began on a shoe-string budget, with family members and supporters fanning out across the city in 1980 in bumblebee yellow T-shirts, and the response was immediate.

“He had support from everywhere - blacks, Hispanics, whites, everyone,” Mrs. Ward said.

He ultimately beat incumbent Republican Judge Robert Christiansen that year for a seat on Toledo Municipal Court, becoming the first member of Toledo's Hispanic community elected to public office.

In 1991, he took the bench as the county's juvenile judge and through the years, he relinquished the administrative duties to Judge Ray - driven by “selflessness and compassion” to stay in the courtroom.

It was there, with the community's youngest offenders before him, that he felt he was most effective, Judge Ray said. Throughout his years, his heritage and his humble beginnings were inextricably woven into his public and private life, friends said.

“A lot of Hispanic families would bring their kids to court, for Joe to give them a talk,” said Connie Eason, a longtime friend who also worked as a liaison with crime victims of juvenile offenders. “He grew up here and reached incredible heights, and parents want to show their children that.”

He served on numerous boards and commissions throughout his life, in part, because he felt he could represent the Hispanic community. All the while, he tried to persuade others to join him - a mission that was successful over time, his wife said.

Mrs. Muniz-Mutcher said he probably found his greatest joy working with the YMCA of Greater Toledo, Toledo Boys and Girls Club, Latins United, the Farm Labor Research Project, and the Bishop's Council on Education under the Diocese of Toledo.

Recently, Spielbusch Avenue, which runs in front of the new juvenile court and detention center, was designated in honor of him. A green, white, and red street banner erected over the street sign proclaims it Judge Joseph Flores Way.

Surviving are his wife, Mary Jane; brother, Ramon Flores; sisters, Eva Flores Steele, Mary Flores Ward, and Esperanza Flores Clay; son, Andre Flores; daughter, Maria Flores, and a granddaughter.

Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. today and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow at Coyle Funeral Home, 1770 South Reynolds Rd. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Monday at Rosary Cathedral, 2535 Collingwood Blvd.

First Published October 18, 2003, 10:49 a.m.