Robert E. Lavender

Robert E. Lavender
Born	July 19, 1926 Muskogee, Oklahoma
Occupation(s)	Attorney, Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court
Years active	1966-2007

Robert E. Lavender (born July 19, 1926) is a retired Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Court's District 1 seat by Governor Henry Bellmon in 1966, and was retained by the voters later that year and subsequently in 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002. He served as the Court's Chief Justice from 1979 to 1981. He retired from the court on August 1, 2007.

Early life and education

Robert E. Lavender was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and grew up first in Tulsa and then on a farm in Catoosa, outside of Tulsa, where he graduated from high school in 1944. Immediately enlisting in the United States Navy, he spent the final year of World War II, on reserve duty in the South Pacific. In 1953, he earned an LLB degree from the University of Tulsa School of Law.

Career in law

While earning his law degree, Lavender worked as an assistant court clerk in the Tulsa County District and Common Pleas courts. After graduation, he became Assistant City Attorney in Tulsa, before joining a private practice in Claremore, Oklahoma.

Lavender was still in private practice when Governor Henry Bellmon appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 1966, representing District No. 1. Later that year, he was elected to hold that same seat for a full six-year term, ending in 1972.

He retired from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, effective August 1, 2007. A retirement ceremony was held in his office on July 23, 2007, where his family, friends and present and former Supreme Court colleagues honored him for his 42 years of service on the court. Then-Governor Brad Henry read a quote that Lavender had made when he first took office. "My sole ambition as a member of this court is to study the cases, work hard, and so conduct my personal life as to inspire confidence and earn the trust of the people in this court as an institution. It is my opinion that a strong and independent judiciary composed of men of unimpeachable integrity is an absolute essential to the continuation of our society.”

Later, Governor Henry appointed John F. Reif to succeed Justice Lavender.

Personal

Robert married Maxine Knight on December 22, 1945. The couple had met while both were attending Catoosa High School. She continued her education to earn a B. S. in Education in 1950 and an M. S. in Education in 1971, both at Central State College. She then earned certification for elementary education learning disabilities, visually impaired, deaf-blind, and multi-handicapped at East Central University. She made her career as a child development specialist at the Child Study Center, Children's Hospital. Retiring after twenty years at the hospital, she became a consultant for blind and visually-impaired in school districts surrounding the hospital. She died March 5, 2010.