David Wesley Gulley

Judge David Wesley Gulley passed away at 93 on December 27, 2024 in San Antonio. He was born in his grandparent’s home in Uvalde on December 19, 1931. He lived the first five years of his life on the family ranch north of Uvalde. While growing up, he developed a lifelong love for agriculture, nature and archaeology as he worked and explored on the ranch, returning there as often as possible throughout his life.

 Wesley was an excellent student and lifelong learner. He was graduated from Uvalde High School in 1949 and Southwest Texas Junior College in 1951. He attended Trinity University where he acted in and directed theatrical productions as a Trinity University Player and was a member of the Triniteers fraternity. After he was graduated from Trinity in 1953, he taught driving in San Antonio and developed a “knowledge” of the exceptional city that he was eager to share for the rest of his life. 

 Wesley then entered the U.S. Army, attending basic at Ft. Bliss and Ordinance School at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, after which he served in West Germany at Rhine Ammunition Depot. After the Army, he returned to San Antonio and taught at Sam Houston High School. He then attended The University of Texas, where he became a serious fan of Longhorn football, and earned a masters in Public Administration in 1961 which he put to use in the city manager’s office of Ft. Worth. Returning to UT, he was graduated near the top of his class from law school in 1965. While in Austin, he met his wife Emma Jane Hampton. After a stint at the Ft. Worth city attorney’s office, the couple moved to Hereford, Texas. Wesley became a partner in a law firm and later General Counsel of Warner Seed Company. 

 In 1977 he was appointed State Judge by Governor Dolph Briscoe to the newly created 222nd Judicial District. He stood for election in 1978 and then was unopposed in the next five elections, serving on the bench until 2002. Judge Gulley’s court was known for strict formality and, above all, extreme fairness. The courtroom was his element. He was a graduate of the National Judicial College as well as a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Judge Gulley was an active member of the Hereford community for decades. He was an elder of the First Presbyterian Church, president of the Rotary Club, president of the Hereford Whiteface Booster Club, an active Mason, Shriner, member of the Scottish Rite, and served the Boy Scouts Troop 50 and also sat on the Executive Board of the Llano Estacado Council and later the Golden Spread Council.

  As a descendant of Captain William Ware, who fought for Texas independence at the battle of San Jacinto and later settled in the Sabinal canyon, he was very proud of his Texas heritage and a scholar of Texas history. He also descended from early American colonists having ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and War of 1812. He was a voracious reader, knowledgeable of numerous subjects and current events. He was proud to have many friends throughout his life and was known as Uncle Wesley to his extended family. He loved to fish on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake and introduce younger family members to camping, hunting, fishing, archaeology and the great outdoors.

 He was predeceased by his parents David and Elizabeth Gulley, his wife Jane, brother Haygood Gulley, brother in law Charles Hampton, sister in law Mildred Hampton and nephew Duane Fisher.

 He is survived by his son Cameron Gulley, daughter in law Alexandra, his beloved grandson Alexander Wesley Gulley; as well as his sister Clarice Gulley Fisher-Arnold; brothers is law Dale Hampton and AJ Reed; sisters in law Esther Reed and Janet Hampton; nieces Clarisa Darby, Elisabeth Geister, Lee Ann Rader, Seana Zagar Searcy, Shana Haines, and Alicia DeSario; nephews Dean Fisher, David Fisher, Dale Edward Hampton, Shane Hampton and Todd Reed.