Stephen J. McEwen Jr., the former president judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court and a two-term district attorney of Delaware County, has died at the age of 85.

McEwen, who was appointed to the appeals court bench in 1981 by then-Gov. Dick Thornburgh and later elected to a 10-year term, died after a “brief illness,” according to information posted by the D'Anjolell funeral home.

McEwen served on the Superior Court for over 30 years, five of those as president judge, retiring from the court in 2012. He served as Delaware County's top prosecutor from 1967 through 1976.

Superior Court Judge Correale F. Stevens, a former president judge himself, remembered McEwen as a kind and intelligent man with a sense of humor. The two first met when Stevens joined the Superior Court bench in 1998.

“We were close friends ever since,” Stevens said. ”He was one of the most respected, intelligent judges ever. He had a tremendous wit and a knowledge of history.”

Stevens recalled a time when McEwen put that affinity for history, especially American, into practice:

“He arranged for the Superior Court to have arguments in Independence Hall and that was a wonderful experience for everybody,” Stevens said.

As for McEwen's leadership of the court, Stevens added, “He really made sure that the court had all it needed to properly function. All of us who have been president judge since see him as the gold standard.”

McEwen was born in Upper Darby in 1932. In 1954, he graduated from then-St. Joseph's College and later received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1957. He earned a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia Law School in 1986.

In between years of public service, McEwen worked in private practice.

According to D'Anjolell, he is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marguerite McEwen; twin daughters, Mary Anne Eagan and Maureen Reilly of Wayne; and seven grandchildren.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for noon Thursday at St. Katharine of Siena, 104 S. Aberdeen Ave., Wayne, Pennsylvania, 19087. The burial will be private.