JACKSON, miss. (WLBT) – Retired Chancellor Edward G. Cortright Jr. died on August 11th.
He was 94.
A funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, August 21, at 10 a.m. in Glenwood Cemetery, Yazoo City.
The Stricklin-King funeral home will take care of the arrangement.
Judge Cortright served as Chancellor in the 11th Chancery District of Yazoo, Holmes, Leake and Madison Counties for 26 years.
He was appointed Special Chancellor of the 11th Chancellery by the governor twice, in 1966 and 1969.
He was elected in November 1970 and took office on January 1, 1971.
He retired in April 1997.
He continued to negotiate cases as a senior judge for several years. He was also appointed special judge on the Mississippi Supreme Court in 2005.
Retired Chancellor William Lutz of Ridgeland remembered Judge Cortright as a learned Chancellor and a wonderful mentor. Judge Lutz practiced as a lawyer before Judge Cortright and then worked alongside him as Chancellor.
“He taught many young lawyers,” said Judge Lutz. “He knew the law. He was practical. He was meek but demanding. He never lost his temper. He never raised his voice. “
Madison Judge Cynthia Brewer said that after she became Chancellor in 2007, Judge Cortright read appeal decisions in her cases and called her often to discuss them. “Judge Cortright saw my duty to lead by example and wanted me to be strong and knowledgeable.”
Judge Cortright told the Yazoo Herald in an interview on his retirement in 1997 that it was important to educate young attorneys on practical legal issues. “There is a good opportunity to be a teacher and a judge. I got that from my predecessor, Judge CD Williams. I’ve always enjoyed teaching people the law where I think it would be helpful to them. “
Judge Cortright was a member of the Judicial Training Committee and chaired the firm’s Conference of Judges. From 1983 to 1997 he was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court for 14 years. As one of the original members of the Charles Clark Inn of Court, he was among prominent lawyers, scholars and practitioners who served as masters of the bank or “benchers”.
Edward G. Cortright Jr. was born on December 20, 1926 in Yazoo City. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and then served in the United States Army Air Corps. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi in 1949 and a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1952. In 1952 he was admitted to the Mississippi bar. He served as a lawyer in Yazoo City for 18 years. He served as the Yazoo City councilor from 1957 to 1961. He lived in Yazoo City until 2006 when he moved to St. Catherine’s Village, Madison.
After his retirement he was active in the relief efforts of the Red Cross and served as chairman of the disaster committee.
Judge Cortright was married to Mary Ann Holmes Cortright for 68 years. They have three children: Elsie Hendrickson from Madison, Mary Nell Prichard from Jackson, and Ed Cortright from Asheville, NC. He also leaves four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren.
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