Arden M. Siegendorf (D)

ARDEN M. SIEGENDORF Arden M. Siegendorf, attorney, City Commissioner, County & Circuit Court Judge, mediator, softball player, sport fisherman, devoted husband, father, and brother, died April 13, 2013. He is survived by his loving wife of 35 years, Rebecca Lyle Siegendorf; his daughter, Stacey Siegendorf Butler (Thad) and their two daughters, Emily and Kate, of Tallahassee, FL; and his son James M. Siegendorf (Lena) of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. He is also survived by his brother Lloyd Siegendorf of Salt Lake City, UT; and his three sisters, Elena Siegendorf McDonald (Tom) of Raleigh, NC; Shelley Siegendorf Spears of Franklin, NC; and Yvette Siegendorf Berger of Aviano, Italy. He had one nephew, five nieces and three great-nieces and nephews. Arden was born in Miami Beach, FL in 1938. He became an Eagle Scout, the highest advancement rank in Scouting. After graduating from Miami Beach High in 1956, he received his B.B.A. from the University of Miami in 1960 and his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law in 1963. He was an assistant Attorney General in the State of Florida from 1963-1971. He served as President of the Young Democrats of both Dade County and Florida from 1968-1970 and was elected as a Miami City Commissioner in 1971. Appointed by Florida ;vernor Reubin Askew, Arden served as a County Court Judge and as a Circuit Court Judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida from 1971-1981. He served a term as an Administrative Judge and also sat as a visiting judge on the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal. He retired from the Court in 1981 and practiced law in Miami and Tallahassee from 1981-1989, specializing in commercial litigation. He taught at both Miami-Dade and Tallahassee Community Colleges. In 1989, Arden began his career as a mediator and became a national leader in the field of alternative dispute resolution first as a member of Mediation, Inc. and then as President of his own company, Tallahassee Mediation Center. He was active in expanding the use of mediation in Florida, serving as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Mediation and Arbitration Rules and as Chairman of the Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Mediation of the Florida Bar. He was a member of Iron Arrow Society, University of Miami’s Highest Leadership Honor Society; Bar and Gavel Legal Society (past President); Society of Wig and Robe; UM Law Alumni Association (past President); Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity; Phi Alpha Delta Alumni Association (past President); Omicron Kappa Delta National Leadership Honor Society; the Florida Bar; the Tallahassee Bar Association; the Martin County Bar Association; the Florida ;vernmental Bar Association (past Vice-President); Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution; Distinguished Fellow of American College of Civil Trial Mediators; recipient of Excellence Award from Florida Conflict Resolution; Florida Academy of Professional Mediators; Excellence in Mediation Award; Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. In addition to his family, Arden’s two other loves were softball and sport fishing. He played and coached men’s slow-pitch softball since his graduation from high school in 1956. In 1997, Arden made his 10,000th hit, an accomplishment of which he was truly proud. He also was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame that same year, won the Amateur Softball Association’s 65 and Over National Tournament in 2003, and the ASA World Tournament in 2007. Most recently, he won the Softball Player’s Association 70’s Major Crown in 2011. When not on the softball field, Arden could be found fishing throughout Florida, Costa Rica and Bermuda.