Judge Frank Price

1938 - 2018

Frank C. Price
1938-2018
Judge Frank C. Price passed away on Saturday May 19, 2018, with his devoted wife and family at his side. Born in Houston on November 17, 1938, Frank Price was a very young 79 years old when he finally met a challenge he could not win. Frank is survived by his devoted wife Melissa Price; son, Frank Christian Price, Jr and wife, Gayle, and grandchildren Brooks, Cole and Rhett of Houston; son Bradley Laurence Price and wife, Gerri, and grandson Connor of Tampa; brother Chuck Price and wife, Penelope, of Houston; sister Karen Meynier of Houston; sister Terry Price Harmon and husband, Judge Bill Harmon, of Houston; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Charles and Evelyn Price of Houston.
Frank started his education at Poe Elementary, where he collected the first members of his cherished family of friends, "The Poe Group," who have continued to meet for lunch through seven decades, just as they did as kids in the Poe Lunch Room. Early in his life, it was clear that Frank was both a scholar and an athlete. By the time he graduated from Lamar High School, he had become a legendary track star and held a school record for decades in the half-mile run.
His track skills opened the door for his admission to the only college he had hoped to attend, Rice University, which he attended on a track scholarship and championed the ultimate test of greatness in athletics. He graduated from Rice with a B.A. in History in 1961 and went to Baylor University School of Law in 1963. Frank credited Rice and Baylor for his professional and ethical roots and repaid his debt of gratitude by being a lifetime supporter of both. His cherished clan of friends grew to include his Baylor alums and The Rice Owl "R" Club. Later, he added the Whitehall Club to his family of friends, a group of fellows who had breakfast together every Friday morning for 35 years.
Frank started his legal career as a prosecutor, serving 5 years as a Harris County assistant district attorney, followed by private practice as a criminal defense lawyer. Frank's exhaustive attention to every case and his strong commitment to justice did not go unnoticed. In 1974, Frank became the youngest appointee in history when he was appointed by Gov. Briscoe to serve as the judge of a criminal court, the 209th District Court. Frank was truly born to be a judge. His gracious temperament, knowledge of the law and sense of fairness made people in his court feel that the system of justice was indeed just. Prosecutors and defense counsel both state that they left Judge Price's courtroom wishing that they could try every case in the level playing field of his court. Judge Price presided over some of Houston's most famous criminal trials, such as the trial of Lilla Paulus who was convicted of being a co-conspirator in the "Blood and Money" murder of Dr. John Hill in River Oaks. He stood firm in his convictions and guarded the integrity of the system without compromise or regard for self-interest. He had the courage to make the very unpopular decision to grant a new trial in the front-page case of a man who was convicted of abducting and killing his own niece. Judge Price had learned that evidence had been withheld from the defense. In the end, the new trial served the system well, and also brought a second conviction. Judge Price presided in the trial of the notorious "Candyman" who killed Halloween and his young son with poisoned pixie sticks he handed out to five neighborhood children, seeking to gain $31,000 in insurance. In 1981, Gov. Clements appointed Judge Price to serve on the First Court of Appeals, starting his years of service on the appellate bench. Eventually he served as a visiting judge in both trial and appellate courts, serving over 30 years in the Texas State Judiciary. Judge Price personally wrote every appellate opinion himself, with hundreds of published opinions to his credit. His writing beautifully reflected his goal of perfection in both language and reasoning. He was known for mastering tough issues and cutting quickly to the heart of a case by asking a single insightful question. For over 20 years, he added mediation as another facet of his legal career and achieved an extraordinary reputation for bringing peace and creative solutions.
As a judge, he was reserved and shunned attention. It is impossible, but true, that this same man was guilty of trickery and deceit – he was among the greatest practitioners of sleight of hand and close-up magic, performing routinely as a professional magician at Magic Island and many other venues. Training his hands to betray the closest scrutiny took the kind of discipline that was his forte. He took immense pride in the craft of magic and considered it a noble art, his "other" profession. He served as President of the Texas Association of Magicians and occasionally hosted local meetings at night in his courtroom. He kept separate his two professions, with few exceptions. An attorney who had once recognized Judge Price at Magic Island needed an emergency ruling, so he raced to the club, paid the admission and asked Frank if he could turn a magician into a judge. Frank did. On another occasion, Frank finished sentencing a convicted con-artist and then had him deal Three-Card Monte for 2 hours so Frank could study his reveal.
Throughout his life, Frank maintained his passion for sports, both as a participant and as a fan. He was a natural born athlete who tackled sports with discipline and his usual pursuit of excellence. Frank did nothing half-way. His water skiing was a series of stunts performed on short trick-skis; his snow skiing in Colorado was mainly moguls and black diamond runs; his singles handball game resulted in city, state and national championships; and, he repeated the record with his doubles handball game. As a sports fan, he was a fanatic, especially for Houston's Astros, Rockets and Texans. He loved baseball and served as an umpire in City League softball. He was the coach of many championship teams during his 15 years of coaching the Post Oak Little League, including teams on which his own sons played. When he was not the official coach, he coached his sons and grandsons by booming out his instructions from the stands.
Frank would surely enjoy a mention of the fact that he took his sons to the Shriners Circus, where he rode in the Opening Procession on the top of an elephant. Texas Monthly proclaimed that Frank had been voted as "Most Handsome Judge in Texas," and Frank thought it was a joke. It was no joke – Frank was shockingly handsome. His sense of humor was subtle, bone-dry and never unkind. With all that he had to brag about, he never did. He was private and modest, preferring to let others have the floor. One of his friends said that you would have to put Frank under oath to get him to talk about himself, and, even then you would have to lead the witness.
Without a doubt, Frank Price lived passionately, creating a journey filled with joy and success, but his greatest passion was his family, including those in the extended family of friends he adopted along his way. Frank loved his family and was loyal and devoted, almost to a fault. Frank and Melissa shared many wonderful times together with friends and family in Houston and Galveston. Frank loved his sons and took great delight in his role as father and grandfather.
Frank Price led a beautiful life and accomplished excellence in a truly remarkable number of quests. Friends say they never left Frank's presence when they didn't wish the time together had been longer. We share that wish today – that our time together had been longer – but Frank is off on a new journey, ready and waiting, with his familiar deck of cards in hand.
A celebration of the life of Frank Price will be held at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive, Houston 77024, on May 24, 2018, at 10:00 am. Those desiring to honor Frank's memory are welcome to make a donation of choice or to The American Cancer Society.