Willis P. Whichard

1940 - 2025

Willis P. Whichard

May 24, 1940 - November 18, 2025

Durham, North Carolina - Willis P. Whichard, 85, known to longtime friends and family as Bill, died on November 18, 2025 in Chapel Hill after a period of declining health from pulmonary fibrosis. A lifelong North Carolinian, he was born on May 24, 1940 at Watts Hospital in Durham. His parents, Willis G. Whichard from Pitt County and Beulah Padgett Whichard from Clay County, were both educators who gave him roots across the state and instilled a deep love of learning. He was educated in the Durham City Schools and received A.B. in history (1962) and J.D. (1965) degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He later earned LL.M (1984) and S.J.D. (1994) degrees from the University of Virginia. In spite of being a ball boy for the Duke basketball team as a teenager, he became a devoted Tar Heel basketball fan when he matriculated at UNC-Chapel Hill. Throughout his life, if he was not at the stadium cheering on the home team, he was in a straight-backed chair pulled up to the TV keeping stats on a yellow legal pad as he watched the game.

Young Whichard began developing a strong work ethic while delivering the Durham Sun newspaper beginning at age 10. Following law school, he clerked for Justice (later Chief Justice) William H. Bobbitt of the Supreme Court of North Carolina (1965-66). From 1966-72 Whichard was an enlisted member of the North Carolina Army National Guard. He practiced law with the Durham firm of Powe, Porter, Alphin & Whichard from 1966-80.

His participation in student government and role as assistant manager for the UNC campus's Young Voters for Terry Sanford gubernatorial campaign in 1960 sparked an interest in politics that led Whichard to run for state office. He represented Durham County in the N.C. House of Representatives from 1971-74. From 1975-80 he represented Durham, Granville, and Person counties in the N.C. Senate. During his legislative career, he sponsored the House bill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, a testament to his belief in fairness and equal opportunity for all. More successfully, he was the principal House sponsor of the Coastal Area Management Act, which protects the beauty and natural resources of North Carolina's coastline for all to enjoy. As a continuation of this progressive environmental legislation, Whichard served as chair of a Governor's Advisory Panel on Offshore Energy from 2009-11.

In spite of all he did to protect coastal resources, in the mountains versus beach debate, Whichard loved the mountains even more. He had a second home and community in Hayesville, NC where his mother grew up and where he enjoyed going to relax, connect with extended family and local neighbors, read, hike, and swim. Children and grandchildren loved to join him in the challenge of swimming across a cove of Lake Chatuge or playing a game of Yahtzee. He traveled widely beyond his mountain retreat as well, saying he never regretted a penny he spent on travel. He had been to all 50 states and many countries in Europe and Asia, including a People to People trip to China in 1976 when the country was still largely closed to outside visitors.

Following his years in the legislature, Whichard went on to serve as a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals from 1980-86 then an associate justice of the N.C. Supreme Court from 1986-98. He had always said that, when the time came, he wanted to retire to something as much as from something. Upon retiring from the court, he became a professor and dean of Campbell University Adrian Wiggins School of Law from 1999-2006. After retiring from Campbell, he returned to practicing law at Moore & Van Allen from 2006-13. In 2013, he partnered with Beth Tillman, who clerked for him during his Supreme Court years, at Tillman, Hinkle & Whichard, later Tillman, Whichard & Cagle, where he remained until 2024 when health concerns led to his final retirement.

In the course of his professional and political careers, Whichard served on numerous boards, commissions, and committees. In his home city, he was president and board chair of the Downtown Durham Development Corporation from 1980-84 and chaired the campaign for the bond issue for the Durham Civic Center (later Convention Center). He was the founding president of the Durham Library Foundation and served in that capacity from 2000-09 and as a member of the board from 2009-10. From 2018-25, he was a member of the Durham County Library Board of Trustees. At the state level, he served on various legislative and judicial commissions and in the early 1980s chaired the Citizens Commission on Alternatives to Incarceration. At the national level, he was a member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary from 2013-16 and was selected for membership in the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation and in the American Law Institute.

A devoted alumnus of the University of North Carolina, he served at various times as member of the board and president of the University's General Alumni Association, on the University's Board of Visitors, on the Board of Advisors for the UNC School of Social Work, and on the Board of Advisors for the UNC Center for the Study of the American South. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UNC School of Law in 1993 and from the University of North Carolina in 2000. The UNC General Alumni Association awarded him its Distinguished Service Medal in 2004.

An avid reader, writer, and historian, Whichard particularly admired Charles Dickens and finished the last of Dickens' major works a few months before his death. One of his beloved cats was named Dickens after the author. Whichard himself wrote two award-winning biographies, one on James Iredell, a North Carolinian who served on the original United States Supreme Court, the other on David Lowry Swain, former governor of North Carolina and president of the University of North Carolina. He was a member of the NC Literary and Historical Association, serving as its president from 1995-97 and subsequently for many years on the Association's Endowment Board. In 2002 he received the Association's Christopher Crittenden Award for lifetime contributions to the preservation of North Carolina history. He was also a charter member of the North Caroliniana Society, serving at various times on its board of directors and as president and receiving the North Caroliniana Society Award in 2016. A member of the Watauga Club since 1987, he served as its president in 1994 and 1995.

Whichard was committed to the importance of the humanities and public education in upholding American democracy. These values led him to serve as a board member of the NC Humanities Council from 2002-08, chairing from 2005-07. He then served at the national level on the board of directors of the Federation of State Humanities Councils from 2011-16. He was also on the Foundation Board of the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) from 1998-2009 and 2013-25; from 2009-13 he served on the center's board of trustees. At NCCAT, he established scholarships in honor of his mother to support professional development for public school teachers. He was a member of the Public School Forum of North Carolina from 2010-25 and a member of the Forum's board of directors for many of those years. He was a foundation board member for the UNC-CH School of Education from 2013-17, a member of the school's board of visitors from 2017-25, and was honored with the school's Peabody Award earlier this year.

Whichard was a member of Mount Carmel Baptist Church and a former member of Binkley Memorial Baptist Church. He served his churches in numerous capacities, including deacon, moderator, and Sunday School teacher. From 2007-16 he served on the Advisory Council of the World Religions and Global Cultures Center, Campbell University Divinity School, and later on the Campbell University Divinity School Advisory Board from 2016-20.

Whichard met his wife, the former Leona Paschal of Siler City, in regional church youth group meetings when they were 14 and 16 years old. They wed as college students on June 4, 1961, and were married for 64 years before his death. In addition to his wife, Whichard is survived by two daughters, Jennifer Whichard Ritz (Steve) and Ida Whichard Silkenat (David), six grandchildren, Chamberlain Silkenat, Dawson Silkenat, Thessaly Silkenat, Grey Ritz, Evelyn Ritz, and Cordia Ritz, one brother, Obie Whichard (Nancy), and many beloved extended family members.

Burial near his parents at Maplewood Cemetery in Durham will be private. A memorial service will be held at Duke Chapel on January 23, 2026 at 2:30 in the afternoon. The Reverend Barrett Freeman, pastor of Mount Carmel Baptist Church, will preside. The family will receive visitors following the service.

The family requests that flowers be omitted and memorial contributions be made to one of the following charities:

The North Caroliniana Society

The Durham Library Foundation, marked "Whichard Endowment for NC Collection

The Campbell University School of Law, marked "Allison-Whichard Law Scholarship Fund"

The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Foundation, marked "Beulah P. Whichard Scholarship Fund"

The UNC School of Law, marked "Whichard Scholarship Fund".

The family is being assisted by Clements Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc. in Durham. Online condolences may be sent to www.clementsfuneralservice.com.

Photo Credit: PORTRAITS, INC. Michele Rushworth, Artist