Little more than two years after his sudden passing, Doug Parsons has been immortalized in a way that friends and colleagues say is befitting a man who distinguished himself in and out of the courtroom.
The Sampson County Courthouse Extension Building will now be renamed the W. Douglas Parsons Judicial Building in honor of the former Senior Resident Superior Court judge, who was also a native of Clinton, practicing law for nearly four decades.
The Sampson County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the renaming, along with the hanging of a portrait in the building, in June.
The Sampson County Bar Association made the request to rename the building after Parson’s sudden passing in September 2017. Parsons served as Superior Court judge for Judicial District 4A, encompassing Jones, Duplin and Sampson counties, for five years.
A move to honor Parsons, initiated in early 2018 and picking up steam in the year that followed, ultimately came to fruition late last week. Honorable Charles H. Henry presided over ceremonial proceedings, held in the main Sampson County Courthouse in downtown Clinton.
A dear friend of Parsons, Ross Holland described his colleague as a faithful servant of his community and of the law he strived to uphold. He spent many years as an attorney, counselor, judge, colleague, mentor and friend.
“He was a man who devoted his professional career to investing in his community by using his many gifts and talents to better the lives of countless individuals whose paths brought them into his office or courtroom,” said Holland. “I ask that our fond memories of Judge Parsons will bring many smiles, that our commitment to honor Judge Parsons’ great legacy will bring comfort and joy to his many friends and family — and that it will be a reminder to all who pass through this place to carry forth his commitment to justice for the people of our community.”
Clinton Mayor Lew Starling called the moment “bittersweet.”
He said Parsons was deserving of the great honor, but that those who know live without him “remember him daily and hurt daily” with his absence. He recalled Parsons and his family as being neighbors of his on Powell Street for many years.
“What a good, good man with deep roots in this city,” said Starling, who noted that Parsons’ father was instrumental in developing the City of Clinton’s water system. “This is a special day. I looked at him like a brother I did not have.”
He acknowledged Parsons’ family, as well as the many dignitaries in attendance at the ceremony, held in the upstairs courtoom in the main courthouse. He said the dozens of elected officials at the event, past and present, showed the “large breadth and deepness of his friendship all across this state.”
They included former and current judges, district attorneys, county officials, commissioners, school board members and many others.
“This is the right thing to do — a great man and a great tribute,” said Starling, who called Parsons “a great leader, a great role model and a lawyer’s lawyer.”
Parsons graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and earned his law degree from Wake Forest University, going on to serve as an assistant district attorney, a U.S. attorney and a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Among many accolades, he was awarded Best Lawyers in America, Legal Elite, Top 100 Criminal Lawyers, and lectured for the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers. He was a former trustee at Sampson Community College, a former commissioner on the N.C. Wildlife Commission and a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church in Clinton, which he served in a variety of capacities.
Parsons was officially appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue in March 2012 to replace retiring Superior Court Judge Russell Lanier Jr. Parsons’ was the first judgeship held by a Sampson County attorney in 41 years, since Judge Howard Hubbard left the bench in 1971. Even when he was a young judge, Parsons quickly separated himself from the pack.
Also offering comments at the recent portrait unveiling and building renaming were Superior Court Judge Henry L. Stevens IV, Sampson County Board of Commissioners Chairman Clark Wooten and District Court Judge William B. Sutton Jr.
Stevens noted Parsons “incomparable contribution to Clinton, Sampson County, the North Carolina Bar, the North Carolina Judicial Branch and the State of North Carolina.” By memorializing Parsons, they were acknowledging the “tremendous impact” that Parsons had on everyone he met, “giving back to the community one life at a time.”
Sutton called it “a very meaningful and special occasion.” A Sampson native himself, Sutton sought along with others to see Parsons honored in a tangible way.
Bar Association President Tiffany Naylor made the verbal request to commissioners in March 2018, saying the naming of the Courthouse Extension — the old First Citizens Bank — to the “W. Douglas Parsons Judicial Building” would be a fitting honor in recognition of a lifetime of dedicated service by Parsons. He was known and loved by many, Naylor said then.
“Doug never met a stranger. He loved his family, his friends and the people of Sampson County,” a resolution by the Sampson Bar Association stated in part.
“He was always a lawyer’s lawyer, one of the best in the state, recognized that way by everybody; and he was a judge’s judge, one of the best in the state, recognized that way by everybody,” Sutton said. “He was a great friend to me and to many of you. Unfortunately, (his career) ended way before it should have.”
At the recent ceremony, Sutton pointed to the many portraits hanging around the room, each of a man with a long list of accolades. Parsons deserves to be in that compancy.
“I don’t think there is any question in anyone’s mind that Doug Parsons belongs in that distiniguished group,” said Sutton. “Anybody who practiced law with him, appeared before him as a judge or knew him as a person — whether you saw him in the courtroom or not — knows he belongs there.”
John O’Hale unveiled the portrait, which will hang in the Extension building. The artist is Vicky McKinney.
“This really is a nostalgic occasion for all of us,” said O’Hale. “A little more than two years ago, Doug Parsons died suddenly. He was our friend, and we miss him.”
“John Kennedy said ‘life is never easy; there’s work to be done and obligations to be met — obligations to the truth, to justice and to liberty,’” O’Hale remarked. “Doug Parsons worked and he worked hard and he fulfilled those obligations. So the naming of the judicial building in honor of Doug Parsons, and this portrait, is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the Parsons family for Doug’s service to the community, and his commitment to the legal profession and our system of justice.”
Unveiling the portrait were Parsons’ wife Roxanne, his son Michael, daughter Rachael and his sister Jo Lee. In a statement included in the ceremonial bulletin, the Parsons family thanked the Bar Association and the Board of Commissioners “for recognizing Doug in this extraordinary way.”
“He was a proud member of the Sampson County community and the state of North Carolina and genuinely loved the people,” the statement read. “We are truly honored on his behalf.”
