Perry V. Whitmore, a retired circuit judge known for his compassion, integrity and dry sense of humor, died of natural causes Tuesday in North Little Rock. He was 91.
Whitmore, who was born in De Queen in 1925, retired in 1990 from the 6th Judicial Circuit judge's bench, serving Pulaski and Perry counties, after first being elected in 1978. He periodically served as a special judge in various courtrooms throughout the state after his retirement.
"I was saddened to hear of the passing of former Pulaski County Judge Perry Whitmore," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said. "Judge Whitmore's decades of public service were marked by his integrity and commitment to justice. He will be missed greatly."
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza, who was elected to Whitmore's seat on the bench upon Whitmore's retirement, said the former judge's integrity and work ethic reminded him of his father's.
"That generation he was from was just special," Piazza said. "He went to war, came back and helped build this country."
As a young deputy prosecuting attorney, Piazza said, he would often follow Whitmore into his chambers asking questions and soaking up Whitmore's legal knowledge.
"I probably bothered him to death," Piazza laughed. "I got to know him really well. He was a really smart, really patient man. As a judge, I have really tried to emulate him. He could break everything down into the simplest element. He was very concise, and when it came out on appeals, he was almost always right."
Whitmore had a reputation for respecting lawyers arguing cases before him and lending a hand to nascent lawyers who didn't quite yet have their feet wet in the courtroom.
"He led them, helped them without embarrassing them," said his son Perry Whitmore Jr.
Retired Pulaski County Circuit Judge John Plegge, who shared a private practice with Whitmore for numerous years, said Whitmore was a tireless mentor throughout his career. The two first met in 1962 when Whitmore was the chief assistant city attorney for Little Rock.
"He was just the most wonderful thing that happened to me in my legal career," Plegge said. "He had the utmost integrity, which is the highest compliment I could give anybody."
And he would tell it like it was, Plegge laughed. Whitmore second-chaired Plegge's second jury trial.
"I didn't know what I was doing. I had sued Southwestern Bell for some reason, and they got the best lawyer they could find, which was Bob Lindsey, of course," Plegge said. "I put on a couple of witnesses, then said, 'All right, Whitmore, how am I doing?' He said, 'Plegge, you have got Bob Lindsey right where he wants you.'"
Plegge laughed heartily at the memory.
"He was right too. The jury came back within 3 minutes, and I lost the case," Plegge said.
Former state Attorney General Steve Clark faced Whitmore in his courtroom from the defendant's chair in late 1990 when Clark was found guilty of theft by deception for misusing a state-issued credit card.
"Judge Whitmore was a very fine jurist, a very fine lawyer and a very fine man," Clark said. "He was just a class individual, a good legal scholar and a man who represented the legal profession in a very, very fine way."
Whitmore's legal career began after he served in the U.S. Army at the end of World War II. Armed with the GI Bill and the promise of a free education, he met with a counselor at the Arkansas State Teachers College -- now the University of Central Arkansas in Conway -- and told her he was going to become a county extension agent.
The counselor told Whitmore that the college's agriculture program had been suspended because its bull died -- something vital to getting accreditation at the time. Whitmore was told he would have to declare another major.
A young man sitting next to him announced that he was majoring in pre-law.
"Well, give me that one until y'all get a bull," Whitmore told the counselor.
Immediately after graduation in 1951 from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, Whitmore was called to active Army duty in the Korean War. He was awarded the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and the commendation ribbon as infantry company commander.
He kept that time of his life private, giving only brief answers when asked about it.
"He never talked about it to us as kids," Perry Whitmore, Jr. said. "We didn't understand. I even played with some of his medals out in the dirt. We would play war and ask, 'Did you kill anyone, Dad?' He wouldn't respond."
Later, Whitmore agreed to be interviewed for the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies oral history collection about his service in the Korean War.
"We told him, 'You told these people these things, tell us.' That's when he started talking about it," Perry Whitmore Jr. said.
One night the family was going to dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse, which was in the old train station where the Clinton School of Public Service is now.
Exiting the car to walk up to the restaurant, Whitmore stood still in front of the train station and burst into tears.
"This is the train station where we shipped out," Whitmore said. "Some of us didn't come home."
It was his war experience and the loss of his mother when he was 4 years old that shaped Whitmore's commitment to his family, Perry Whitmore Jr. said. Whitmore, who raised three boys and one girl with his wife, Marjorie, was an involved, doting and patient father who never missed a ballgame or school event despite his busy schedule.
"I can't remember him ever raising his voice," Perry Whitmore Jr. said. "He would just sit you down and explain it to you instead of ranting."
While he didn't follow his father into the legal field, Perry Whitmore Jr. -- a corporate risk manager with WEHCO Media -- said he recognizes his dad's influence in his career and life.
"You do what is right whether you think anybody is looking or not," he said. "He was so well respected. He is the most honorable, ethical, compassionate person I know."
State Desk on 02/09/2017