TOMS RIVER — The legal community in Ocean County is mourning the death of retired Superior Court Judge Barbara Ann Villano, a trailblazer whose career spanned more than four decades and left a lasting mark on the county’s justice system.
Villano began her legal career in 1976 at the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, where she was among the first women appointed as assistant prosecutors. At the time, assistant prosecutors served on a part-time basis, allowing Villano to simultaneously build a successful private law practice in Brick Township.
In 1989, she was appointed to the Superior Court bench, where she presided over matters in the Criminal, Civil and Family divisions. Over the course of her judicial career, Villano rose to leadership roles, serving as presiding judge of the Family Part and later the Criminal Part. She retired from the bench in 2009 after two decades of service.
Villano returned to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office in 2019, this time as a mentor to assistant prosecutors. Her return came at the request of her former law clerk, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, who said her guidance was instrumental in shaping his professional and personal life.
“She was and will always be a guiding light in my life,” Billhimer said in a statement posted on social media. “More than a mentor, she was someone I could always turn to for advice, both professionally and personally. I am a better person from having her in my life.”
Throughout her career as a private attorney, prosecutor and judge, Villano was widely respected for her dedication, fairness and mentorship. Colleagues credited her with influencing generations of lawyers and judges across Ocean County.
Villano’s death has prompted an outpouring of condolences from the legal community. Officials asked that her family, colleagues and friends be kept in thoughts and prayers as they remember a jurist whose career came full circle in service to the county she helped shape.
