Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Marybeth Dingledy left the bench in Everett at the end of June after an unexpected Alzheimer's disease diagnosis cut short a 30-year legal career.

On Thursday, Aug. 20, dozens of colleagues gathered at the courthouse on Rockefeller Avenue to give her the send-off her sudden departure hadn't allowed.

Dingledy said she doesn't yet see symptoms in herself but wasn't willing to gamble with the cases before her.

"My job is really important and I don't want to screw someone's life up," she told The Daily Herald at the celebration.

Gov. Bob Ferguson has already named her replacement.

He appointed Jehiel Baer, a career litigator with more than 13 years of experience who most recently served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Washington, to the seat on July 17, according to the governor's office. Baer attended the Aug. 20 celebration and was photographed speaking with Dingledy at the courthouse.

Dingledy was appointed to the Superior Court by former Gov. Christine Gregoire in January 2012. Before that, she spent roughly 16 years as a defense attorney with the Snohomish County Public Defender's Association.

At the retirement event, Superior Court Judge William Steffener described Dingledy as both his mentor and his matchmaker, crediting her with keeping him in law and connecting him with his wife of 15 years.

He told the crowd that without Dingledy's compassion, he would have left the profession entirely.

Former Superior Court Judge Janice Ellis recalled sharing a judicial chamber with Dingledy and watching her train to climb Denali while simultaneously presiding over cases. "When we say that she is a tenacious human being, like, we say that with capital letters and all underlined," Ellis said.

Dingledy spent much of the celebration with misty eyes, still processing the end of a career cut short. In a brief speech, she told colleagues she hopes people remember her as kind and fair, adding that most judges are normal people doing the best they can.

She's making travel plans. Indonesia and southeastern Europe are on the itinerary.

As of Aug. 23, Baer does not yet appear on the Snohomish County Superior Court's online judicial roster. His swearing-in date has not been publicly announced.