Phillip Benjamin Baldwin Sr.

U.S. APPEALS COURT JUSTICE (RET.) PHILLIP BENJAMIN BALDWIN, SR. of Marshall, Texas, died Saturday, April 20, 2002, at Christus Schumpert Medical Center of Shreveport following a brief illness. A fifth generation native of Marshall and former resident of Houston, Judge Baldwin was born on December 23, 1924 to Dr. Jack Browning Baldwin and Lucile Jones Baldwin. From 1943 to 1946, he served in the United States Air Force as a bomber pilot with the 405th Flight Squadron assigned to the Pacific Theatre. For his service, he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal with six bronze stars, the American Theater campaign medal, the Philippine liberation medal, a presidential citation and an army of occupation medal. Following World War II, Judge Baldwin attended North Texas State University, where he received his baccalaureate degree in biology and chemistry. He received his law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston, which honored him in 1984 as Distinguished Alumnus. He began his legal career in Marshall, where he was served as Harrison County Assistant District Attorney, Criminal District Attorney, and president of the Harrison County Bar Association. He was later engaged in the private practice of law in Marshall with Baldwin & Baldwin and Baldwin & Curry. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated and the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Baldwin to the federal bench, where he served in Washington, D.C. as Associate Justice of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and later, Justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He retired in 1991. Throughout the 1990's, Judge Baldwin served as an arbitrator, mediator and private judge in many disputes involving intellectual property and anti-trust matters. Active in Democratic politics throughout his career, Judge Baldwin was Chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee in 1968. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Lt. Mordicai Baldwin Chapter and Sons of the Republic of Texas. An avid hunter and fisherman, he was an early activist promoting environmental protection of Caddo Lake near Baldwin, Texas, in Harrison County. Judge Baldwin was preceded in death by his parents, his older brother, Jack Browning Baldwin, Jr., a grandson, Bruce C. Clark, Jr., and a nephew, David Baldwin Sanders. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Mertie Bellamy Baldwin, and four children: Rebecca Baldwin Clark and husband, Bruce, of Dallas, Texas; Nancy Baldwin Rohtert and husband, Tom, of Heiskell, Tennessee; Jane Baldwin Chrisenberry and husband, Bradley, of Dallas, Texas; and Phillip Baldwin, Jr. and wife, Cynthia, of Marshall. Seven grandchildren survive him: Kathryn Baldwin Clark, Laura Whitehouse Clark, William Cameron Clark, Sarah Alice Chrisenberry, Phillip Benjamin Baldwin III, Andrew Browning Baldwin, and John Scott Baldwin. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Jane Baldwin Sanders and husband, Dr. Jack Monroe Sanders, Sr.; his brother Francis Scott (Scotty) Baldwin, Sr. and wife, Cora Lee (Cody) Fein; his cousins Lyttleton Mahone, Jerene Jones Winocour and Franklin Jones, Jr. and wife, Elizabeth (Liz) Francisco; his nephews, Jack Monroe Sanders, Jr. and wife, Lynn; Francis Scott Baldwin, Jr. and wife Holly; John Browning Baldwin, all of Marshall, and his nieces, Lucile Lee Baldwin of Dallas and Elizabeth (Beth) Sanders Moore and husband, Jess, of Houston. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Marshall, proceeded by Holy Eucharist for the family with The Reverend Steve Sellers officiating. Burial services will be held immediately following at Scottsville Cemetery in Scottsville, Texas. Pallbearers will be Jack Sanders, Jr., Scott Baldwin, Jr., Jack Baldwin, Franklin Jones III, Jonathan Winocour, Jess Moore and Mark Bolger. For those desiring to make memorial contributions, the family requests gifts be made to Trinity Day School, Marshall, Texas, or the Dallas Chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Arrangements conducted by Sullivan Family Funeral Directors, Marshall, Texas.