Judge Wendell A. Odom

Funeral services for JUDGE WENDELL A. ODOM, 84, will be held Friday, February 11, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. in the Carroway-Claybar Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Frank Starr officiating, with eulogy by Joe Ned Dean. Interment will follow in Burketown Cemetery in Trinity County. Judge Odom was born June 14, 1920 to the late James Thomas and Clora Estelle (Spring) Odom, and died Saturday, February 5, 2005 in a local hospital. A native of Apple Springs, Texas, Judge Odom graduated from Groveton High School in 1938. After the invasion of Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the United States Navy. While serving on the U.S.S. Minneapolis, he received eighteen battle stars. His ship was engaged in battles that included Coral Sea, Midway and Guadalcanal. After the war, Judge Odom attended the University of Houston undergraduate school and received his law degree from the University of Houston School of Law in 1951. He practiced law in Galena Park, Texas from 1951-1957, during which time he was a city attorney, Harris County port commissioner and Corporation Court Judge. In Houston, Texas, he served as judge of County Court at Law No. 2 from 1957-1961; Court of Domestic Relations from 1961-1964; and 176th District Court from 1964-1971. In 1970, Governor Preston Smith appointed Judge Odom to the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin, Texas. He was a judge on the state's highest criminal court from 1971-1984. Judge Odom was appointed by Governor Mark White to the Board of Pardons and Paroles where he served as a board member from 1985-1988. He then served as a visiting judge throughout the state of Texas. Since his retirement, Judge Odom has been a gentleman rancher in his hometown of Apple Springs, Texas. Included among the many distinctions and awards that he received was the conferral of Thirty-Third and Last Degree of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in 1969. In 1973, he was recognized as a distinguished alumni at the University of Houston. Judge Odom was preceded in death by his wife of 49 years, Ola Fay Newton. He was married to Mary Clare Croley in 1998, until her death in 1999. He was also preceded in death by his brother, Dr. William Clinton Odom. Judge Odom married Meta Witt in February of 2004 and is survived by her, as well as his daughter and son-in-law, Linda Fay and Dr. William C. Ramsey of Louisville, Kentucky; son and daughter-in-law, Wendell A., Jr. and Jan Odom of Houston; daughter, Molly Estelle Odom of Houston; son and daughter-in-law, Mark Clinton and Glynnis Odom of Roundrock; grandsons, William C. Ramsey of Columbus, Ohio, Wesley Albert Ramsey of Los Angeles, California and Warren Jesse Ramsey of Huntington Beach, California; granddaughter, Katherine Spring Odom of Houston; grandson, Mark Clinton Odom, Jr. of Roundrock; brothers, Harrell Odom of Belton, Thomas Odom of Lufkin and Orville Odom of Beaumont; and a number of nieces and nephews. Pallbearers will be Joe Ned Dean, Judge David Walker, Judge Gerald Goodwin, S. E. Denman, George Parnham and Tommy Tidwell. Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening at the funeral home. Carroway-Claybar Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.