1925
Wayne
2011
Wayne Thomas DeWees
January 25, 1925 — May 17, 2011
Wayne Thomas DeWees, 86, of Bolivar, passed away Tuesday night, May 17, 2011 at Hardin Medical Center in Savannah.
Mr. DeWees was born January 25, 1925 in Yazoo, MS to the late Wayne Thomas DeWees and Anna Kessel DeWees. He was raised by his grandmother in Bartlett. He married the only woman he ever loved, Patty DeWees. Mr. DeWees was the owner and operator of DAPS, Discount Auto Parts Store, having run 18 stores from New Orleans, LA to Florida. He graduated from the University of Memphis with two degrees and was admitted to the BAR on August 2, 1952. As the Memphis city attorney, he and others, including Ed Gillock, were part of the William B. Ingram Administration. He was instrumental in appointing the first black circuit court judge in Tennessee, a champion for civil rights and believed strongly in defending the indefensible. After his bout with cancer in 1996, he moved to Bolivar, where he fell in love with the city and returned to practicing law. Mr. DeWees served in the US Army after high school. He ran away in 1941 to join the Merchant Marines, but his grandmother made him return back home and go to school. He was involved in the Cotton Carnival in Memphis and was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Bolivar.
He is survived by a sister, Margaret Clair DeWees of New Lennox, IL; a brother, Randle V. DeWees, Sr. of Laguna Niguel, CA; one of his closest friends, Lauren McKeen; two nephews and countless grateful friends and clients. In addition to his beloved wife, Patty DeWees, he was preceded in death by a sister, Mary DeWees.
Mr. DeWees was born January 25, 1925 in Yazoo, MS to the late Wayne Thomas DeWees and Anna Kessel DeWees. He was raised by his grandmother in Bartlett. He married the only woman he ever loved, Patty DeWees. Mr. DeWees was the owner and operator of DAPS, Discount Auto Parts Store, having run 18 stores from New Orleans, LA to Florida. He graduated from the University of Memphis with two degrees and was admitted to the BAR on August 2, 1952. As the Memphis city attorney, he and others, including Ed Gillock, were part of the William B. Ingram Administration. He was instrumental in appointing the first black circuit court judge in Tennessee, a champion for civil rights and believed strongly in defending the indefensible. After his bout with cancer in 1996, he moved to Bolivar, where he fell in love with the city and returned to practicing law. Mr. DeWees served in the US Army after high school. He ran away in 1941 to join the Merchant Marines, but his grandmother made him return back home and go to school. He was involved in the Cotton Carnival in Memphis and was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Bolivar.
He is survived by a sister, Margaret Clair DeWees of New Lennox, IL; a brother, Randle V. DeWees, Sr. of Laguna Niguel, CA; one of his closest friends, Lauren McKeen; two nephews and countless grateful friends and clients. In addition to his beloved wife, Patty DeWees, he was preceded in death by a sister, Mary DeWees.
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