07 LC 36
0563
Senate
Resolution 349
By:
Senators Meyer von Bremen of the 12th and Hooks of the 14th
A
RESOLUTION
Honoring
and remembering the life of Georgia Supreme Court Justice Jesse Groover Bowles,
Jr.; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
the State of Georgia lost one of its most distinguished citizens with the
passing of Jesse Groover Bowles, Jr., on January 28, 2007; and
WHEREAS,
he was born in Baconton, Georgia, on August 24, 1921, to Jesse Groover, Sr., and
Bart Swann Bowles; and
WHEREAS,
a highly motivated and intelligent young man, he graduated from Camilla High
School in 1938 and attended the University of Georgia, where he played football
for Coach Wally Butts and completed both his Bachelor of Arts and his L.L.B.,
graduating cum laude in 1946; and
WHEREAS,
he served the citizens of Georgia with diligence, grace, and wisdom on the state
Supreme Court from 1977 to 1981, attaining the honorable position of Justice of
the Supreme Court; and
WHEREAS,
in 1981, he returned to Cuthbert, Georgia, to join his son, Jesse Bowles III, at
the Bowles and Bowles law firm he had helped establish in the early 1950's;
and
WHEREAS,
he unhesitatingly aided his community in every way he could, serving as chairman
of the Randolph County Savings and Loan Association; a member of the Randolph
County Hospital Board; a founding member of the Randolph Arts Council; a trustee
emeritus of Andrew College; without hesitation, a mentor to attorneys throughout
southwest Georgia and the state; and an active member of Cuthbert First Baptist
Church; and
WHEREAS,
he was admitted to the Mitchell County Sports Hall of Fame in 2004;
and
WHEREAS,
Justice Bowles leaves to cherish his memory a son, Jesse Bowles III; a daughter,
Elizabeth Chastain; a sister, Sarah Frances Wicker; six grandchildren; three
great-grandchildren; three nieces; and a host of relatives, friends, and former
colleagues; and
WHEREAS,
in life he commanded the esteem of his fellow Georgians; at his death we mingle
our sympathies with the grief of his family and friends.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body join
together to express their deepest regret at the passing of Justice Jesse Groover
Bowles, Jr., and extend their most sincere condolences to his
family.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Jesse Bowles III.