SIDEBAR Summer 2017 - 25

MONTGOMERYBAR.ORG

SIDEBAR FEATURE

IN MEMORIAM

THE HON. HORACE A. DAVENPORT
Originally published by the Pennsylvania Bar Association Minority Bar Committee
WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport
was bom in 1919 in Newberry, South
Carolina, and moved with his family to
Norristown, Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS the Hon. Horace A.
Davenport was awarded the Conference
of Trial Judges Golden Crowbar Award in
1996 for his tenacity in settling cases; and

WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport
graduated from Norristown High School,
matriculated at Johnson C. Smith
University on a football scholarship,
and completed his bachelor's degree at
Howard University; and

WHEREAS in 2001, the Montgomery
Bar Association opened the Horace A.
Davenport Dispute Resolution Center in
his honor; and

WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport served
in the U.S. Army during World War II as
an engineer and was honorably discharged
with the rank of first lieutenant; and
WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport
was graduated from the University of
Pennsylvania Wharton School in 1947
and the University of Pennsylvania Law
School in 1950; and
WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport
entered private practice and served as
Solicitor for the Norristown Area School
District, the Norristown Area School
Authority, and the Central Montgomery
County Vocational Technical School; and
WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport was a
founding member of the law firm Gerber,
Davenport and Wilenzik in 1971; and
WHEREAS Judge Horace A. Davenport
was elected to the Montgomery County
Court of Common Pleas in 1975, the first
African-American to serve on that Court;
and
WHEREAS Judge Horace A. Davenport
retired from the Court in 1989, but
was called back into service as a Senior
Judge, during which time he reduced the
Court backlog of 4,000 cases to 400, and
worked until he was forcibly retired at age
84; and

WHEREAS the Johnson C. Smith
University, where he served as trustee,
awarded Judge Davenport an honorary
doctoral degree; and
WHEREAS Judge Horace A. Davenport
served as president of the La Mott
Historical Society and on the boards of
the Montgomery County Red Cross,
the Montgomery Bar Association, and
Montgomery Hospital; and
WHEREAS the Hon. Horace A.
Davenport was a great lawyer, judge,
community leader, and role model
to many of Pennsylvania's judges and
lawyers; and
WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport was a
loving husband, father, grandfather, and
great grandfather; and
WHEREAS Horace A. Davenport passed
away on March 2I, 2017 at age 98;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that
the Pennsylvania Bar Association joins in
mourning the loss of a great Pennsylvania
lawyer, judge, and community leader; and
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the Pennsylvania Bar
Association conveys its condolences to the
surviving family members of the Hon.
Horace A. Davenport.
April 21, 2017

SUMMER 2017 25
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SIDEBAR Summer 2017
