Judge Malcolm Jurgenson
Thinking more about the Judge, how would it be if he is Miriam's father, Malcolm, living out his golden years in a house he bought next door to his son-in-law the Veterinarian. There is a fence separating the two properties, but Judge Malcolm has shown his grandson how to loosen a vertical board to make a secret, swinging door in the fence that a boy can walk through almost with no effort, even though he is likely not as small as he was when the Judge showed him this trick. He has a thicket of muscadine vines growing in his back yard that also is designed to operate as a draw for the grandson. To that end, he maintains a "junk pile" of discarded lumber, wire, assorted crates and old gardening tools (rakes, shovels, etc., nothing overly sharp or dangerous, but plenty of tools and materials for building/digging clubhouses/forts) near, but not too near, to the musadine thicket. This being the suburbs, and not far from an intermittent creek that holds water and fish for most of the year, the occasional nutria, racoon, or 'possum visits to get a muscadine snack, too. Judge Malcolm's 'other' purpose for the muscadine thicket is, you guessed it, muscadine wine! Now that his wife has passed, the Judge is able to indulge in his wine a bit more often than before, and he has become quite a proficient vintner. (Perhaps this should be his skill?)
Malcolm's other self will be an early-middle-aged* (38) fighter veteran who has seen his share of action and has the scars to prove it -- his left ear was shorn off during a particularly fierce battle, but you ought to see the other guy -- Malcolm can show you where he is buried. And, of course, Judge Malcolm is quite hard of hearing, especially on his left side.
* Hey! Give an old fart a break! I think it'd be a real treat to be 38 again for awhile.
