A former judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit has passed away. 

Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett said he received an email Thursday morning with the news that Judge Weldon Judah passed away.

“He just was a really caring individual and it’s a tragic and shocking loss to think he just retired and all the years he served,” Puett said.

Judah retired in December 2016. He was first elected to serve in the Municipal Division of the Buchanan County Circuit Court in April of 1986. He served in that capacity until November, 1988, when he was elected an Associate Division Judge. In 1995, he was appointed by the Governor as Circuit Judge, Division 2, of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. He was elected to that position in 1996 and re-elected in 1998, 2004 and 2010.