Andrew O. Holmes (May 4, 1906 – July 24, 1965) was a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1963 until his death in 1965."State Lawyers Mourn Holmes", ''The Tennessean'' (July 25, 1965), p. 1-A, 4-A.

Early life and education

Born in

Hernando, Mississippi Hernando is a city in, and the county seat of, DeSoto County, which is on the northwestern border of Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,090 at the 2010 census, up from 6,812 in 2000. DeSoto County is the second-most-populous count ...

, Holmes moved with his family to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

in 1911, and attended

Messick High School Messick High School was a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee, established in 1908 and operated from 1909 to 1981.Vance Lauderdale. The Messick school mascot is the Golden WildcatElizabeth Messick and Messick High School ''Memphis Flyer'', Oct ...

and

Memphis University School , motto_translation = Truth and Honor , streetaddress = 6191 Park Avenue , city = Memphis , state = Tennessee , zipcode = 38119 , province = , country = United States , coordinates ...

before receiving a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 1927. While at Vanderbilt, he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and managed the school football team. He was admitted to the practice of law in Tennessee in 1928, and received an LL.B., also from Vanderbilt University, in 1929.

Career and military service

In 1941, he was elected to the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, from 1942 to 1945, spending seventeen months as an Air Combat Intelligence Officer assigned to the aircraft carrier USS ''Kitkun Bay'' in the Pacific Ocean, and achieving the rank of lieutenant commander before the completion of his service in 1945. In March 1947 he was appointed to a seat on the Circuit Court in Shelby County, where he remained until February 1963, when Governor

Frank G. Clement Frank Goad Clement (June 2, 1920 – November 4, 1969) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st Governor of Tennessee from 1953 to 1959 and from 1963 to 1967. Inaugurated for the first time at age 32, he was the state's younge ...

appointed Holmes to a seat on the state supreme court vacated by the death of Chief Justice Alan Prewitt.

Personal life and death

In 1929, Holmes married Mary Fitzhugh of Memphis, who survived him. He died at Memphis Methodist Hospital at the age of 59, following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at his home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Andrew O. Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court 1906 births 1965 deaths People from Hernando, Mississippi Vanderbilt University alumni Vanderbilt University Law School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Members of the Tennessee General Assembly Sigma Alpha Epsilon members 20th-century American judges