Royce R. Lewellen is a retired California Superior Court Judge in Santa Barbara County and namesake of the Royce R. Lewellen Justice Center in Santa Maria

Santa Maria, California

Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...

, CA. He is also co-owner of Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards in Santa Barbara County.

Early years

Judge Lewellen was born in St. Louis, MO in 1930 and spent most of his youth in Jefferson City, MO. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

 in Columbia and after two years service in the U.S. Air Force attended the Boalt School of Law at the University of California

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 in Berkeley, graduating in 1957.

Legal career

Judge Lewellen practiced civil law

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

 in Solvang, CA and served as the Solvang Justice Court Judge from 1969 to 1975. He was then appointed to the Superior Court in Santa Maria where he served until 1990. The courthouse complex in Santa Maria was named in his honor in 1992.

Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards

In 1996 Judge Lewellen partnered with Louis Lucas

Louis Lucas

Louis Lucas was one of the early commercial wine grape growers in Santa Barbara County, considered a local pioneer in the field. He is currently co-owner of Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards.-Early years:...

, a local pioneer grape grower to form Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards. The company owns three vineyard

Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...

s in Santa Barbara County producing 24 grape varietal

Varietal

"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

s and operates a winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 in Buellton, CA and two tasting rooms in Solvang, CA.

Community and Personal Life

Judge Lewellen was (and still is) involved in many community organizations, most notably as Founding Director of both the PCPA Foundation and Solvang Festival Theatre. He also is a Founding Director of The Community Bank of Santa Maria and was a long-time Director of Contract Freighters, Inc. He is married to Ann Foxworthy Lewellen and has three sons, Mark, Michael and David.

External links

• http://www.llwine.com/Default.asp?Page=125 Biography of Royce Lewellen on Lucas & Lewellen website.
• http://www.llwine.com/Default.asp?Page=113 Compilation of Articles on Lucas & Lewellen website
• http://www.yourcbsm.com/index.asp?pg=board Community Bank of Santa Maria