Many school board members and School District of Lee County staff shared their condolences to Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin and her family during the meeting on March 10.<\/p>\n
Judge John Carlin, who dedicated more than 35 years serving the people of Southwest Florida, passed away on March 5. He was first a Lee County judge and later a Circuit Court Judge in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a lion not only in the legal community, but this community,\u201d Board Member Sam Fisher said. \u201cI don\u2019t think you can find a place in this county that he didn\u2019t impact somebody, especially adoptions. Everywhere you turn there are so many stories of adoptions that Judge Carlin did with the boards he served on.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also touched on the mentorship that Dr. Carlin\u2019s husband provided people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know when I got on the board, having known Judge Carlin from years before, watching how he ran his courtroom was one of the people that inspired me on how I handled things,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cHe is a fantastic member, and we are going to miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said one of the highlights was Law Week Awards, which included Lee County Bar and law enforcement, as well as a law teacher from the district.<\/p>\n
Board Attorney Robert Dodig said he has known both Judge Carlin and Dr. Carlin for 21 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a great judge and a great person. The one thing that has given me peace over the last four or five days is knowing that he always wanted to see her as superintendent and that did happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Ken Savage, who was sitting in for the superintendent at the meeting, said Carlin was in the proper place of being with her family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, serving as superintendent twice, it is a very consuming endeavor. The amount of service that she and her whole family puts into this role and this investment into this community. It\u2019s something very few can actually really appreciate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Savage said he knew Judge Carlin long before he got to know his wife, as he was one of the very first people in a Teen Court Program. He said he was one of the attorneys that helped juvenile offenders through early misdemeanor offenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was an attorney and that is how I met Judge Carlin,\u201d Savage said.<\/p>\n
Judge Carlin was also his wife\u2019s college professor in school law.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also sworn me in both times,\u201d Savage said of being the interim superintendent. \u201cHe\u2019s a huge part of my families\u2019 lives. What an incredible human being he was.\u201d<\/p>\n