O. E. Price
Encyclopedia
Oscar Ewing Price, known as O. E. Price (January 1, 1924–February 23, 2006), was a district and appeals court judge
from Bossier City
, Louisiana
.
in DeSoto Parish in northwestern Louisiana to Oscar Elijah Price (1876-1943) and the former Katherine Holt.Price graduated at the age of sixteen from Logansport High School and then entered Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston
for three years. He then entered the United States Army Air Corps
, forerunner to the Air Force
, for three years of service during World War II
. He served in the Pacific Theater of operations. In 1949, he earned his Juris Doctor
degree from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge
and thereafter opened his law office in Bossier City, located across the Red River from Shreveport
.
, was elected municipal judge in Bossier City. In 1960, he secure election to the 26th Judicial District Court bench, on which he served until 1969, upon election to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Shreveport. In 1979, Price was named chief judge of the appeals court, on which he served until his retirement in 1985. He was a past chairman of the Louisiana Conference of Court of Appeal Judges and a member of the Louisiana, Bossier Parish
, and Shreveport bar associations. In 1999, Price was honored at a 50-year reunion of LSU Law School graduates. After retirement, Price engaged in arbitration work for the law firm of Peters, Ward, Bright and Hennessy in Shreveport.
, Kiwanis Club, and United Way, Palmetto Country Club, and the Young Men's Christian Association. He was an avid runner, having participated in two triathlon
s when he was in his fifties. He served on the boards of several financial institutions. He was reared in the First United Methodist Church of Logansport and was thereafter a long-term member of the First United Methodist Church of Bossier City.
, Judge Price married Anna Florence "Flo" Whittington Bigby (1923-2009), a businesswoman and the widow of Price's former judicial colleague, Walter O. Bigby
. She was the daughter of banker and former Louisiana State Senator
V.V. Whittington
, who represented Bossier and Webster
parishes. Judge Price died of complications from pneumonia
. In addition to his second wife "Flo" Price, he was survived by four children, John Walker Price of Bossier City, Roger Ewing Price of Baton Rouge, Clayton Holt Price of Houston
, Texas
, and Kathy Price Rodgers of Southlake
, a suburb
of Fort Worth
; stepson Walter O. Bigby, Jr., of Bossier City, and two Rodgers granddaughters.
Judge Price is interred beside his first wife at the O.E. Price Memorial Cemetery in Logansport, which is named for Price's father.
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
from Bossier City
Bossier City, Louisiana
Bossier City is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States.As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 61,315. Bossier City is closely tied to its larger sister city Shreveport, located on the western bank of the Red River. The Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area is the...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Background
Price was born in LogansportLogansport, Louisiana
Logansport is a town in western DeSoto Parish adjacent to the Sabine River in western Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,630 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
in DeSoto Parish in northwestern Louisiana to Oscar Elijah Price (1876-1943) and the former Katherine Holt.Price graduated at the age of sixteen from Logansport High School and then entered Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
for three years. He then entered the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, forerunner to the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, for three years of service during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He served in the Pacific Theater of operations. In 1949, he earned his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
and thereafter opened his law office in Bossier City, located across the Red River from Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
.
Judgeships
In 1954, Price, a DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, was elected municipal judge in Bossier City. In 1960, he secure election to the 26th Judicial District Court bench, on which he served until 1969, upon election to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Shreveport. In 1979, Price was named chief judge of the appeals court, on which he served until his retirement in 1985. He was a past chairman of the Louisiana Conference of Court of Appeal Judges and a member of the Louisiana, Bossier Parish
Bossier Parish, Louisiana
Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War...
, and Shreveport bar associations. In 1999, Price was honored at a 50-year reunion of LSU Law School graduates. After retirement, Price engaged in arbitration work for the law firm of Peters, Ward, Bright and Hennessy in Shreveport.
Associations
Price was active in the Louisiana Bar Association, Bossier Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, Kiwanis Club, and United Way, Palmetto Country Club, and the Young Men's Christian Association. He was an avid runner, having participated in two triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...
s when he was in his fifties. He served on the boards of several financial institutions. He was reared in the First United Methodist Church of Logansport and was thereafter a long-term member of the First United Methodist Church of Bossier City.
Family and death
Price was twice married. Two years after the death of his first wife, the former Joyce Maurine Walker (September 29, 1925–September 13, 1995), a victim of Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, Judge Price married Anna Florence "Flo" Whittington Bigby (1923-2009), a businesswoman and the widow of Price's former judicial colleague, Walter O. Bigby
Walter O. Bigby
Walter Oliver Bigby, Sr. , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Bossier Parish, having served from 1968 until 1979. Often called the "Dean of the House" because of his reputation for integrity, fairness, and hard work, Bigby was a son-in-law of banker and former...
. She was the daughter of banker and former Louisiana State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
V.V. Whittington
V.V. Whittington
Volney Voss Whittington, known as V.V. Whittington or Voss Whittington , was a banker from Bossier Parish in northwestern Louisiana who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1928 to 1932.Whittington was born in Ivan in Bossier Parish but resided most of his life in the...
, who represented Bossier and Webster
Webster Parish, Louisiana
Webster Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. In 2010, its population was 41,207....
parishes. Judge Price died of complications from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. In addition to his second wife "Flo" Price, he was survived by four children, John Walker Price of Bossier City, Roger Ewing Price of Baton Rouge, Clayton Holt Price of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Kathy Price Rodgers of Southlake
Southlake, Texas
Southlake is a city in northeast Tarrant and southeast Denton counties, Texas. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 26,575. A suburb of Fort Worth and Dallas, Southlake is known for exemplary public schools, Southlake Town Square, and Carroll High School's 7-time state champion football...
, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
; stepson Walter O. Bigby, Jr., of Bossier City, and two Rodgers granddaughters.
Judge Price is interred beside his first wife at the O.E. Price Memorial Cemetery in Logansport, which is named for Price's father.