Christopher Ciaccio remembers when he was young and older Italians would approach his father, then Surrogate Judge Arnold "Arnie" Ciaccio, and call the judge "avvocato." The Italian word for lawyer and advocate also was imbued with respect, a recognition that Judge Ciaccio was ready to help individuals in need, whether in a courtroom or outside the courthouse walls.

"He was fair, even-tempered, and kind to everyone," Christopher Ciaccio, himself now Monroe County's Surrogate judge, said of his father, who died Nov. 1 at the age of 91. A Surrogate judge from 1983 to his retirement in 1999, Ciaccio was known both for his active politicking for Democrats before his judgeship and his friendships with local Republicans.