Harry Adler, 82, a retired Cumberland County judge and the first Democrat to win election in the conservative community where he lived, died Wednesday, May 28, 1986, evening in Bridgeton Hospital. He lived in Bridgeton.

Judge Adler, appointed to the bench by Gov. Robert B. Meyner in 1954, served the courts in Bridgeton for 20 years. Then he retired, buoyed by the thought of resuming his practice.

Friends said the law was his life. He loved it. It never failed to interest him. He remained interested to the end.

A bright student, he was admitted to the practice of law on May 28, 1928, before he had completed his law degree. He died on May 28, 1986, 58 years later, to the day.

The son of immigrant parents, Haan and Anna Adler, he was born in rural Deerfield Township. He was educated in Deerfield's one-room schoolhouse and graduated from Bridgeton High School in 1923. He attended Temple University and earned his law degree from Rutgers University a few days after he had been admitted to the bar.

He came back to Cumberland County to practice law in Bridgeton and became active in the Democratic Party in the heavily Republican area. Eventually he attained the chairmanship of the county Democratic organization.

In the mid-1930's, a period when even the staunchest Republicans were inclined to vote for Democrats, he was elected to a seat in New Jersey's General Assembly. He served for a term and returned to his legal practice.

That was a period when he became something of a pioneer in practicing before the Interstate Commerce Commission, handling much of the business of the nation's fledging trucking industry before the federal regulatory body.

He also served as solicitor for a number of local governments.

Earlier in life be began a routi8ne that he maintained until his final illness. An early riser, he would leave his home about 6 a.m. and drive around the county, checking a farmer here and a farmer there, stopping to chat and se how things were going. He would report to his law office between 8 and 9 and start his day again.

In the process of his wanderings, he came to know almost everyone, and almost everyone came to know him.

Few were surprised when Gov. Meyner appointed him to the bench in August 1954. He was reappointed four time and retired in November 1973.

He was one of the last country judges, one friend observed, adding, "If the law didn't cover it, Judge Adler did".

An example came in racial clashes in Bridgeton in 1957. When fighting spread to the schools, Judge Adler declared that he would see that it ended.

"If necessary", he said, "I shall take this matter into my own hands and direct that something drastic be done forthwith. Children are going to go to school without any fear, without any interference, and they are going to be treated like ladies and gentlemen".

No one doubted his word. Things quieted down in town.

After he retired from the bench, he tended his practice closely, reporting to the office every day until he became ill early last year.

Judge Adler was active in civic and service clubs. He also became president of Congregation Beth Abraham. He was a Mason and a member of the American and New Jersey Bar Associations.

Surviving are his wife, Celia Adler; son, Harry R.; three grandchildren, and two sisters.

Friends may call after noon Sunday at Congregation Beth Abraham, Fayette Street and Belmont Avenue, Bridgeton. Services will be conducted there at 2 p.m. Sunday. Burial will be in Alliance Cemetery in Norma, N.J.

Contributions in Judge Adler's name may be made to Congregation Beth Abraham or to the United Jewish Appeal.