Harold Edward Achor (November 16, 1907 – February 5, 1967) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, politician, and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

who served as a justice of the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...

from January 3, 1955 to December 12, 1966.Minde C. Browning, Richard Humphrey, and Bruce Kleinschmidt,
Biographical Sketches of Indiana Supreme Court Justices
, ''

Indiana Law Review The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law (IU McKinney) is located on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana, the urban campus of Indiana University. In the summer of 2 ...

'', Vol. 30, No. 1 (1997), section reproduced i
Indiana Courts Justice Biographies page

Biography

Early life, education, and career

Achor was born in

Coffeyville Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's southeastern region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,826. Coffeyville is the most popul ...

, Kansas. When Achor was an infant, his family moved to

Kosciusko County Kosciusko County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. At the 2020 United States Census, its population was 80,240. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Warsaw. The county was organized in 1836. It was named for the Polish ge ...

, Indiana. Achor attended

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

in Atwood. Achor attended the University of Indianapolis (then known as Indiana Central College), graduating in 1928. He received his legal education at

Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The school is named after Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman and 1967 alumnus who donated $35 million in 2008 ...

(in Bloomington), graduating in 1931, and moved to Anderson that year to begin practicing law, founding the firm of Achor & Peck with his former classmate at IU, William L. Peck. From 1932 to 1937, Achor taught

public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

and political science at Anderson University (then known as Anderson College). He was also a member of the Anderson College

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

and the Board of Governors of the Associated Colleges of Indiana. He was also appointed to the Committee of One Hundred of the International Council of Religious Education and helped to organize a branch of

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

in Muncie. He additionally served in many other local civic and religious organizations in Anderson. Achor was involved with the Anderson Church of God and helped to organize the Anderson Area Inter-Faith Fellowship, "an annual gathering of pacifists concerned about eliminating racial prejudice and discrimination" which included

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and Jews.

Judicial service

In 1942, Achor, a Republican, was elected judge of the Madison County

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

. During this time, he also worked as a marriage counselor. In 1950, he was elected judge of the Indiana Appellate Court, serving in the position for a single four-year term. In 1955, Achor became a justice of the

, succeeding Justice

Dan Flanagan Daniel Collins Flanagan (April 23, 1899 – February 28, 1960)"Dan Flanagan, Former State Judge, Dies", ''The Munster Times'' (February 29, 1960), p. 5. was an United States of America, American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as a just ...

. He resigned from the bench in 1966 due to his failing health. He was succeeded to the court by Justice Donald Hunter.

Personal life and death

In 1935, Achor married Helen Shoemaker in Anderson. Shoemaker was originally from

Tomball Tomball ( ) is a city in Harris County in the U.S. state of Texas, a part of the Houston metropolitan area. The population was 12,341 at the 2020 U.S. census. In 1907, the community of Peck was renamed Tomball for local congressman Thomas Henry Ba ...

, Texas. Achor died in 1967, in Anderson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achor, Harold 1907 births 1967 deaths People from Coffeyville, Kansas University of Indianapolis alumni Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumni Justices of the Indiana Supreme Court American judges Indiana Republicans