The Honorable Judge Michele Kirby Roper, Associate Judge of the District Court of Beckham County, and attorneys Mike Blevins and Kent Whinery hosted the celebration and presentation of Leon Willsie’s 50-year pin in the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Honorable Dustin P. Rowe, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, pinned Willsie in the afternoon of Oct 24th, on the third floor of the Beckham County Courthouse.
Roper opened the ceremony with an introduction of Rowe and his background. He started as a judge for the Chickasaw Nation and then named Vice Chief Justice of the Supreme Court before stepping into the role of Chief Justice. She then welcomed the other lawyers and dignitaries who came to celebrate Willsie’s long career in Beckham County.
“I want to welcome Judge (Gary) Mc-Ginn, who served from 1969 to 1983 as the Associate District Judge, and then from 1983 to 1986 as a District Judge for District Two. And then welcome Judge Doug Haught who served from 1983 to 2011 as the Associate District Judge, and then from 2011 to 2019 as the District Judge,” Roper said.
After introducing the former District Judges who served during Willsie’s tenure in Beckham County courts, Roper introduced the other attorneys from the 1970s and 1980s. She continued to say that all of these lawyers were a big part of Willsie’s history and the history of Beckham County.
Roper also told the story about Willsie’s first murder trial, after he began practicing in Beckham Country. In this first trial, he got a not guilty verdict, which was four years out of law school. The documents from that trial were present for the guests to look over, as well as other memorabilia from his career in law.
After Roper’s introduction of Willsie, she invited attorney Mike Blevins to speak about his colleague and fellow lawyer’s career. Blevins and Willsie met in 1961 when they were taking piano lessons from the same teacher, then after both went to law school, they returned to Western Oklahoma to practice their craft.
Willsie said that he knew he wanted to become an attorney when he served on a jury. Blevins joked about being called by Judge McGinn to take cases, and they both answered the calling. After Blevins reminisced about their career together and Willsie’s accomplishments as a lawyer, he invited Willsie to speak.
It was said that the seasoned attorney was a man of few words, but he spoke
See HONORED page x about his wife, Catherine, and thanked everyone for attending the ceremony. Judge Rowe stepped up to recognize all of the members of the Oklahoma Bar who were present and then presented Willsie with his 50-year pin.
“There’s no country like this. We’re the longest living republic in the history of mankind, and it’s because of our Constitution. I want to say to you, Leon, and to our lawyers and our judges, those of us that are on the front lines in these rooms and through these men and women are where our rights are protected. This is where our Constitution plays out every day, and it has survived this long because men and women devote their lives to taking an oath to practice in a courtroom and uphold those rights. To all of you, I say thank you. We are all blessed to be part of this remarkable experiment called America, and so as your Chief Justice, I’m honored to pin you with your 50-Year pin and to congratulate you on a distinguished career as a member of our bar,” Rowe said as he pinned Willsie.
Blevins invited everyone to a reception at the Urban House in Sayre to congratulate Willsie. The reception was sponsored by Blevins and Whinery, celebrating Willsie’s distinguished career in Western Oklahoma.
