>Kenneth A. 'Buck' Douglas

 

Former County Judge and District Judge Kenneth A. "Buck" Douglas passed away at about 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 27, 2005, in Corsicana. Judge Douglas was born Feb. 17, 1927, to Lawrence Douglas and Gladys Arnett Douglas of the Cryer Creek community in northwest Navarro county. Graduating from Barry High School, Douglas joined the U.S. Army and served in Panama. Upon discharge from the Army, he enrolled in Navarro College. Married in 1947 to Dorothy Jo Owen, he was admitted to Baylor University School of Law, receiving his law degree in 1951. Douglas returned to Navarro County and practiced law with an office in Corsicana. He was appointed judge of the municipal court of the City of Corsicana in 1951. Two sons were born to Judge and Mrs. Douglas, Kenneth "Ken" Douglas in 1952, and Brett Owen Douglas in 1959. Douglas continued to practice law and serve as municipal judge until his appointment as constitutional county judge of Navarro County in 1957. During his tenure, he was faced with numerous challenges, among them the renovation of an aging courthouse, and the finance of the county's contribution to the construction of Interstate 45. These and other projects required remarkable management skills at a time when county revenues were extremely low. As county judge, "Buck" Douglas practiced fiscal conservatism and dedicated himself to the effective management of public affairs. Also noteworthy is that the Navarro County Courthouse was made accessible to handicapped persons long before passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Judge Douglas left the county bench in 1972 to become executive director of the Texas Association of Counties, then a struggling organization committed to the assistance of county government in numerous ways, from legislative issues to liability management and insurance. Under his direction, the association greatly expanded its scope of operations and influence.

In 1976, Judge Douglas resigned as executive director of the association to seek the bench of the 13th District Court of the State of Texas. In this election he defeated the incumbent and served with distinction on the district trial bench for 20 years, never facing an opponent after 1976. As district judge, "Buck" Douglas heard all manner of family and civil disputes, as well as criminal cases including capital murder and organized crime prosecutions. Judge Douglas is remembered by the bar of Navarro County as a jurist who managed his considerable docket with firmness and fairness. After retirement, he continued to sit as an assigned visiting judge in complex and controversial cases. Other achievements for which Judge Douglas will be remembered are his participation in the founding of VFW Post No. 3366, and his service as president of both the Northeast Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association and the Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association. He also engaged in ranching and the independent trucking business.

Judge Douglas will be deeply missed by those who believe that all persons are equal before the bar of justice as well as those who believe that the courts of America are the only institutions which stand between tyranny on one side and anarchy on the other.

He will also be remembered as a loving father and grandfather.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Jo Owen Douglas; his mother, Gladys Douglas; and his sons and daughters-in-law, Ken Douglas and Cindy Douglas and Brett Douglas and Dianne Douglas. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Allison Douglas, Ryan Douglas, Dustin Douglas, Daniel Douglas, Seth Douglas and Anna Middleton. Surviving relatives also include sisters and brothers-in-law, Marie Griffin of Carrollton, Dorothy Jean and Bob Ashford of Grand Prairie, Betty and Dan Lancaster of Athens and Wanda and Eddie McNeese of Kerens; sister-in-law, Bobbie Brown; nieces, Brenda Hodge and husband Coy and Kim Andrews and husband Larry; and many other nieces, nephews and friends.

 

Help wanted!

We would welcome biographical details for this person.

Click to contribute

Please note that if you employ Spam Assassin, or similar email blockers, then you must ensure that you can receive emails from douglashistory.co.uk

Errors and Omissions

The Forum

What's new?

We are looking for your help to improve the accuracy of The Douglas Archives.

If you spot errors, or omissions, then please do let us know


Contributions

Many articles are stubs which would benefit from re-writing. Can you help?


Copyright

You are not authorized to add this page or any images from this page to Ancestry.com (or its subsidiaries) or other fee-paying sites without our express permission and then, if given, only by including our copyright and a URL link to the web site.

 

If you have met a brick wall with your research, then posting a notice in the Douglas Archives Forum may be the answer. Or, it may help you find the answer!

You may also be able to help others answer their queries.

Visit the Douglas Archives Forum.

 

2 Minute Survey

To provide feedback on the website, please take a couple of minutes to complete our survey.

 

We try to keep everyone up to date with new entries, via our What's New section on the home page.

We also use the Community Network to keep researchers abreast of developments in the Douglas Archives.


Help with costs

Maintaining the three sections of the site has its costs.  Any contribution the defray them is very welcome
Donate

 

Newsletter

If you would like to receive a very occasional newsletter - Sign up!

 
 
 

This page was last updated on 30 September 2021

Click here to 
Print this page

Biography finder

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

 

 

Index of first names

 

 

 

At this stage, the content of this website is a collection of materials gathered from a variety of sources, some of it unedited.

The webmaster does not intend to claim authorship, but gives credit to the originators for their work.

As work progresses, some of the content may be re-written and presented in a unique format, to which we would then be able to claim ownership.

Discussion and contributions from those more knowledgeable is welcome.

Contact Us

Last modified: Monday, 11 October 2021