Thomas C. Wicker, Jr.
| Thomas Carey Wicker, Jr. | |
 | |
| In office 1972–1985 | |
Judge of the
Louisiana 5th Circuit Court of Appeal | |
| In office 1985–1998 | |
| Born | August 1, 1923 United States of America |
|---|---|
| Died | February 24, 2021 (aged 97) Metairie, Louisiana |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Predeceased by:
(1) Judge Veronica DiCarlo Wicker of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana |
| Children | Thomas Carey Wicker, III. Catherine Wicker West |
| Residence | Metairie, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Alcée Fortier High School Tulane University |
| Occupation | Attorney and judge |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Rank | Ensign, promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) and gunnery officer |
| Battles/wars | World War II: Philippines, the recapture of the Philippines, and Okinawa |
- Not to be confused with the liberal journalist Thomas Grey "Tom" Wicker (1926-2011), a native of North Carolina
Thomas Carey Wicker, Jr. , known as Tom Wicker (August 1, 1923 – February 24, 2021), was an attorney in suburban New Orleans, Louisiana, who served as a judge on three levels of court: parish, 24th Judicial District, and the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the 5th circuit, from which he retired in 1998.[1]
Background
The son of Thomas, Sr, (1896-1971) and the former Mary Taylor (1896-1945),[2] he graduated from Alcée Fortier High School in New Orleans, for which he played tuba in the marching band and was part of the students performing at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Queens, New York. He then graduated in 1944 from Tulane University in the School of Commerce and Business Administration in New Orleans, at which he was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He entered the United States Navy as an ensign]in the last year of World War II and was later promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) and gunnery officer. He received orders to report to the U.S.S. Lackawanna in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He was an officer of the deck of a ship that was part of the task force of Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey. He fought in six six campaigns, including the Battle of the Philippines, the recapture of the Philippines, and Okinawa.[3]
Career
After his military duties, he entered Tulane Law School, at which he was the editor of the Tulane Law Review from 1948 to 1949 and was named to the Order of the Coif scholastic fraternity. Admitted to the bar, he served as a law clerk for Justice E. Howard McCaleb (1997-1978) of the Louisiana Supreme Court. He was an assistant United States Attorney, during which time he received a letter of commendation from the first FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and the United States Attorney General for Wicker's prosecution for a difficult case that he handled in federal court. He was in the private practice of law from 1953 to 1972, when he was elected to a 24th Judicial District judgeship in suburban Jefferson Parish. He was the first judge to hold the "Division H" slot. Wicker remained on the district court until December 1985. At that point, Tom decided to run for promotion to the Louisiana 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, on which he served on the court until 1998. He also set on numerous occasions as an ad hoc judge of the Louisiana Supreme Court.[3]
He spent fourteen years on the faculty of the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada at Reno, the training program for state judges, of which he was also a board member. He co-authored two books, Judicial Ethics (1975) and Modern Judicial Ethics (1992), both of which have been used as textbooks at the National Judicial College. He was also a visiting faculty member at his alma mater, He also promoted the expansion of sports in the New Orleans community. In 1967, he was a founding member and president of both the Green Wave Club and The Touchdown Club, He also the Sugar Bowl Committee, [3]
At the time of his death at the age of ninety-seven, Wicker was residing in Metairie. He outlived two wives; the first was United States District Judge Veronica DiCarlo Wicker (1930-1994), a Pennsylvania native who was appointed in 1979 by U.S. President Jimmy Carter to the Eastern District of Louisiana. His second wife was the former Jane Trepagnier (1933-2020). He had two children from his first marriage, Thomas Carey Wicker, III., (wife Fredericka) and Catherine Wicker West (husband Thomas). His two step-children are Wendy Frilot Daboval (husband Daniel) and James Maitland Frilot (wife Kim).[1]
Namesake grandson, T. C. Wicker, IV, said that Wicker was "a passionate guy. The law was one of his true passions. He believed in the law, and he loved his service to it.”[4]
Visitation for Judge Wicker was held on March 1, 2021, at St. Augustine Episcopal Church in Metairie. His obituary does not mention a place of interment,[3] but his parents and brother, Ralph James Wicker, Sr. (1930-2011), are at Garden of Memory in Metairie.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thomas Wicker (Carey). Mylife.com. Retrieved on March 2, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thomas Carey Wicker, Sr.. findagrave.com. Retrieved on March 2, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Thomas Wicker obituary. The New Orleans Times-Picayune (February 26, 2021). Retrieved on March 2, 2021.
- ↑ John Pope (February 26, 2021). Carey Wicker Jr., whose legal career included, a judgeship on the 24th Judicial District Court Thomas Wicker, combat veteran, 26-year judge, Tulane booster dies at 97. The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved on March 2, 2021.