Judge
Gempeler stepping down
after 25 years Health
issues for him, wife forced absence
By BRIAN HUBER - GM Today Staff
October 31, 2008
Circuit Court Judge Mark Gempeler
talks to attorneys in the sexual assault trial of former
Green Bay Packers tight end Mark Chmura in late January
2001. Gempeler, appointed to the bench by former Gov. Tony
Earl, will retire in December.
WAUKESHA - After a 14-month absence from the bench necessitated
by chronic back problems and the terminal illness of his wife,
Charla, Circuit Court Judge Mark Gempeler announced last week he is
retiring and ending a 26-year judicial career.
"I am still working through the process and it’s different
for every person for grieving and trying to cope with the loss of
your soul mate, your best friend in life, and those are matters that
frankly are paramount," Gempeler said Thursday. "And that’s
one of the reasons why (Judge J.) Mac Davis and the state courts
director tried to encourage me to come back to work, and I said it
was dependent on whether I could rehab my back because I didn’t
want to come back to work for a couple of weeks and leave again with
a back problem."
