John Henry Dimond (December 28, 1918 – June 1985) was an American jurist who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Alaska from August 7, 1959 to November 30, 1971. He was one of Alaska's inaugural justices, serving along with Buell Nesbett and Walter Hodge on the court's first ever bench. Born in

Valdez, Alaska Valdez ( ; Alutiiq: ) is a city in the Chugach Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to the 2020 US Census, the population of the city is 3,985, up from 3,976 in 2010. It is the third most populated city in Alaska's Unorganized Borou ...

, he was the only son of

Anthony Dimond Anthony Joseph Dimond (November 30, 1881 – May 28, 1953) was an American Democratic Party politician who was the Alaska Territory Delegate in the United States House of Representatives from 1933 to 1945. Dimond was also an early champion of Al ...

, and was briefly in private practice with his father prior to his death. The state courthouse in his adopted hometown of

Juneau, Alaska The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the se ...

, located across the street from the

Alaska State Capitol The Alaska State Capitol is the building that hosts the Alaska Legislature and the offices of the Governor of Alaska and Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. Located in the state's capital, Juneau, the building was opened on February 14, 1931, as a fede ...

, is named in his honor.

Early life

Dimond was born December 28, 1918, in Valdez, to Dorothea M. Dimond, and future Valdez mayor & U.S. Delegate

, the 2nd of 3 children. He grew up with Anthony's godson, Bill Egan, who would become Alaska's first state Governor. In the early 1930s, Egan would give Dimond and future Anchorage Mayor George A. Sullivan boxing training, leading to an incident one time where Dimond punched Egan so hard that he fell out of a window. Sullivan & Dimond waited for minutes for Egan to re-appear, although, as time went on, Egan was nowhere to seen. Egan suddenly burst through the door, saying "OK boys, the lesson is over for today." Dimond would go on expeditions with Father Hubbard, nicknamed the "Glacier Priest". Dimond was seriously burned in a boating accident, while helping the construction of the Shrine of St. Therese in Juneau. Dimond was burned by the fumes from a nearby leaking gasoline tank which had exploded. Dimond served in the U.S. Military during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, winning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Asiatic Pacific Medal with two bronze stars, and the Philippine Liberation Service Medal with a bronze star.

Career

Dimond was appointed to the inaugural state supreme court by Governor

Egan Egan may refer to: People * Egan (surname) * Egan (given name) Places in the United States * Egan, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Egan, Louisiana, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Egan, South Dakota, a city * Eg ...

, on August 7, 1959. His law clerks included future Alaska Chief Justice Walter L. Carpeneti. After his retirement from the court, on November 30, 1971, Dimond continued to sit from time to time as a senior justice until his death at 66, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. "Services for Dimond Set", ''Daily Sitka Sentinel'' (July 2, 1985), p. 3.

References

1918 births 1985 deaths People from Juneau, Alaska People from Valdez, Alaska Justices of the Alaska Supreme Court 20th-century American judges {{US-state-judge-stub