Judge Olga Sapp Peers

Judge Olga Sapp Peers, died Thursday, February 27, 2003, after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Judge Olga Peers, known to family and friends as "Mom," came from humble beginnings and flowered into a pillar of the community. The only child of French immigrants Laurent and Julienne Sapp, she was born in Lawrence, MA, into a community of French-Americans. Her father was farsighted and ahead of his time in that he encouraged his daughter (his "little pomme") to complete college and become self-sup-porting. Olga attended Salem State Teachers College and Tufts University, where she received her degree. She taught grades 1 through 8 in a one-room schoolhouse in Maine, before heeding the call to serve her country by joining the Navy in World War II, where she served as a lieutenant. After the war, she moved to Louisville with her husband, Milburn, and their first child, where she worked with her husband in his law practice. She soon discovered her love for the profession and pursued a law degree from the University of Louisville. Mom described her experience by saying, "I practiced law with my husband, who would make the court appearances, while I did all the preparation and research. After his death in 1970, I found that I had no trouble making court appearances. In fact, I rather enjoyed them." In 1972, Judge Benjamin Shobe appointed Mom to the old Louisville Police Court, and then later, under the judicial reform, she was elected to the District Court. Mom enjoyed the legal profession and having proven herself to be a pioneer among women, she again achieved another first in 1978, when she became the first female Circuit Court Judge in Kentucky. Mom remained on the circuit court bench until her retirement in 1990, Groundhog Day to be precise. When Governor Wilkinson appointed her as a trustee of the University of Louisville in 1992, she accepted the position with great joy. Mom had served the University in many ways, but in this capacity she helped guide the University through many endeavors, including the search for a University president and football coach. She was a mentor to student athletes and helped the University find ways to make equality for female sports a reality. At the end of her term as university trustee, the university appointed her to many other positions and committees, including a position on the Athletic and the University Hospital Boards. Recreationally, she enjoyed her beloved Boston Red Sox and all U of L teams, especially basketball. She attended all basketball, football and volleyball home games and traveled with the teams to numerous away games around the country and world. While Louisville had become home, Mom continued to return to York Beach, ME, for many years, where she enjoyed summers filled with blueberries, lobsters, Goldenrod Kisses and the lighthouses, all set to the sound of the ocean. She is survived by two first cousins; her children, Lauren Claypool, Michele Peers, Kara Peers, Milburn Peers Jr., Lynn Welch and Deanna Ramsey; and six grandchildren. Mom is at Pearson's Funeral Home (149 Breckenridge Lane), where visitation will be held from 2-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Her funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday. Judge Peers had always stated that expressions of sympathy should take the form of donations to the University of Louisville.