In Memoriam: Judge Ruffin dies at 75
Monday, February 1st, 2010, 11:55 am
John H. “Jack” Ruffin Jr., who helped integrate Augusta in the 1960s and 1970s and then served 22 years on trial and appeals court benches, died Friday at age 75.
The Daily Report encourages readers to share their memories of Judge Ruffin in the comments section below. Some may be included in our print edition on Tuesday.
Related story: “Report: Judge Ruffin dies at 75.”
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:25 pm
In July 1986 I became Jack Ruffin’s first law clerk. He did not hire me but rather inherited me. A few of months earlier, I was hired by Chief Judge Bill Fleming as the sole law clerk for all the Superior Court Judges in the Augusta Circuit.
Just a few weeks after starting my new job and fresh out law school, I was invited by Judge Frank Pierce to ride with him and Superior Court Clerk Lester Newsome to Atlanta, to attend the swearing in of Jack Ruffin. Along the way, I asked these two old school politicos about Jack Ruffin the man and lawyer. Given the times they grew up in, I expected a particular response, but got the opposite of my expectations. They had nothing but praise for the character, legal abilities and judicial temperment of Jack Ruffin. They were very content and complimentary of the Governor’s appointment and looked forward to having a man like Jack Ruffin on the bench.
Soon after he started Judge Ruffin and I became close friends. He was my first mentor and as the first, he has a special place in my heart and memory. He often took his new law clerk to lunch, and like the stories told by others, he took great joy in joking with the servers. More than once I would check my sandwich just before eating it. Of course, he would never let me pay, as he knew my meager salary. He gave me books from his law library and counseled me on the importance of doing a good job and being more than just ethical. After I began the practice of law and had new mentors, I would often reflect on those many lessons and think fondly of Jack.
Fortunately for me Judge Ruffin moved to Atlanta shortly after I did, and we renewed our friendship once he took a seat on the Court of Appeals. We’d have lunch, have him for dinner at the house and talk often on the phone. Once I had the blessing of taking him and Don Hollowell to lunch and listen intently as they told stories about their work in the 1960′s. Over the last nearly 25 years, it has been one of the great blessings in my life to have met Jack Ruffin, worked for him and to call him a close and dear friend.
I miss him greatly already and cannot comprehend the loss Judith, Brinkley and the grandchildren must feel. I’m sure that today God is getting a great laugh from something Jack Ruffin said and probably checking the inside of his sandwich because of Jack’s joking. Our temporary loss of him is just something we’ll have to deal with until we see him again.