DICKENSON, CHARLES ROBERT "BOB" (1933~2006). The following is an article published by the Abilene Reporter-News upon the death of Judge Bob Dickenson. The article was published on Tuesday, August 15, 2006.
"Retired court of appeals judge dies
Dickenson remembered as helpful, fair, reliable
By LLuvia Mares
August 15, 2006
Retired 11th Court of Appeals Justice Bob Dickenson, who was known as a man people could count on, died Monday. He was 73.
'He would stand by you through thick and thin,' said Jim Wright, chief justice of the Eastland-based court. 'If you were riding the rapids you would want him next to you.'
Dickenson was elected to the appeals court in 1978 and served until 1998.
'I am going to miss seeing him,' said Wright, who had been friends with Dickenson for more than 25 years. 'He was always smiling and always so positive. He just loved being around people.'
Dickenson was born in Santa Anna in 1933 and graduated from Stamford High School in 1951. He went to Texas Tech University and received a bachelor's degree in 1954 and then a law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1957.
'He was very dedicated to the law and was a true wordsmith when it came to writing opinions,' said Wright. 'He had an institutional memory. He could remember past cases by name and detail.'
After law school, Dickenson worked as an attorney for Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co. for about two years. He taught law at Baylor University until he moved to Abilene in 1960.
Wright met Dickenson when Wright became a district judge in Eastland. Dickenson was already a justice of the Court of Appeals.
'When I first started out I was just a baby judge and he took me under his wing,' Wright recalled. 'I didn't know much about writing opinions so whenever Bob thought I needed to use different words he was always very gentle about it.'
Wright said Dickenson never used a red pen to correct his documents - because he thought it was too abrasive.
Dickenson was active in civic affairs in Abilene, including serving as president of the Abilene Zoological Society.
Services are pending at Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road."
Further information available through the Texas State Cemetery research department. |
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