‘Victim-minded, super kind.’ Retired, longtime Tri-Cities judge dies

Vic VanderSchoor, who served as a Superior Court judge for Benton and Franklin counties for more than 20 year and was known in the community for his kindness, died Tuesday in Kennewick.

He was 73.

VanderSchoor was elected to the Superior Court bench in 1996, but had started filling in for judges as needed not long after he began practicing law.

He served as a Franklin County District Court commissioner for 13 years and also had acted as a judge pro-tem for Benton County District and Pasco Municipal courts for 15 years.

“Vic loved being a judge,” said Andy Miller, retired Benton County prosecutor. “I think that had been a long-time goal of his.”

VanderSchoor retired just months into his sixth term as a Superior Court judge when he turned 65 in 2017, saying it had been an honor and a privilege to serve.

“I’ve never gotten up and gotten ready to go to work without looking forward to the day,” he told the Tri-City Herald when he announced his retirement. “I’ve been very fortunate. I do think it’s the best job that you can have, so it’s hard to make the decision to retire, but I think it’s time.”

Pat Austin, the Superior Court administrator then, said when VanderSchoor retired that he had been very reliable and knowledgeable due to his length on the bench.

Miller called him one of the bright judges he appeared before. When he ruled against an attorney, he was probably right, Miller said.

‘Scary’ murder case

VanderSchoor had some difficult cases over the years, both on the bench and in his 17 years of private practice in Pasco before becoming a judge.

“Early on in my lawyering career, I used to take things very personally. And then I finally decided and realized, as long as you’re prepared, whether it be as a judge or an attorney, that’s all the best you can do,” he said. “None of us are perfect. I’m sure I’ve made my share of mistakes.”

He’s also had some cases that he described when he retired as “kind of scary.”

One that came to mind, he said when he retired, was the trial of Jose Angel Munguia, a 15-year-old who was convicted in the 1997 killing of popular Prosser teacher’s aide Guivi Darbeliani.

Munguia shot Darbeliani three times in the head and dumped his body in an irrigation canal, all because the teen and his friends wanted the victim’s sports car.

“(Munguia) took the stand during his trial and he was just totally devoid of any emotion,” VanderSchoor recalled.

He said when he retired that he wouldn’t miss the tension of big murder trials or presiding over matters with contentious out-of-town attorneys who don’t work well with the local lawyers.

People expect a judge to be fair and patient and to feel as if they’re being listened to, VanderSchoor told the Tri-City Herald in 2017 and said that he had practiced those qualities as best he could while on the bench.

Miller said he supported VanderSchoor’s opponent in the 1996 judicial election and then was impressed that VanderSchoor never seemed to hold a grudge against him or any other attorney.

‘Victim minded, super kind’

Advocates with the Support, Advocacy & Resource Center (SARC) in Richland found him to be “very compassionate, victim minded, super kind,” said SARC executive director JoDee Garretson on Wednesday.

He had a passion for justice for kids and was a longtime member of the Exchange Club, a weekly service club focused on child abuse and patriotism, she said.

His own daughters were “everything” to him, she said.

VanderSchoor was also being remembered Wednesday for having a beautiful singing voice.

He would schedule occasional lunchtime performances in the Franklin County Courthouse rotunda, Miller said.

He also performed at Miss Tri-Cities Scholarship Programs, and he had emceed the annual local program and the Miss Washington competition.

“He was a fabulous person and very kind,” said Dorothy Stewart, executive director of the Miss Tri-Cities Scholarship Program.

The program’s former executive director Teresa Lavender remember him as always having a smile.

VanderSchoor also had served on the board of directors for the Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society for more than a decade.

Although he could not fundraise when he was a judge, every year he would donate a flat screen TV for its auction and help out at the Legal Aid barbecue, said the group’s executive director when he retired.

He also was a Rotarian.

Judge was Pasco native

VanderSchoor was born at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Pasco and graduated from Pasco High in 1970. He then graduated from Eastern Washington State College in 1974 and the University of Washington School of Law in 1979.

He went into private practice, focusing on family law with what he described in 2017 as “a smattering of real estate, probate and wills, estate planning, some bankruptcy, just a little bit of everything.”

He continued his private practice while serving as the Franklin County District Court commissioner, which was a part-time position.

He is survived by his wife, Gail, daughters and grandchildren.

Mueller’s Greenlee Funeral Home in Pasco is in handling the arrangements.

This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 8:12 PM.