[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 184 (Friday, December 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF JUDGE JOHN HENRY LAND

                                  _____
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 2, 2011

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I come to the House Floor today to pay tribute 
to one of Columbus, Georgia's most renowned and respected public 
figures, the late Judge John Henry Land. Judge Land, who served on the 
Superior Court bench in the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit 
for nearly 25 years, died on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at the age of 
93 years old. His funeral will be on Monday, December 5, 2011 at the 
Striffer-Hamby Mortuary's Macon Road Chapel, followed by a committal 
service in Park-Hill Cemetery.
  His many years of dedicated public service and steadfast commitment 
to mentoring young lawyers, District Attorneys, and Judges are just two 
of the many reasons as to why Judge Land was such an influential and 
respected pillar in Georgia legal circles.
  A Columbus native, Judge Land was born on June 1, 1918, the son of 
Aaron Brewster and Mattie Miller Land. He is a graduate of Columbus 
High School and the University of Georgia. As a student at the 
University of Georgia, he epitomized the true meaning of a young and 
inspiring legal scholar by finishing a five-year law degree program in 
four years.
  Following his exemplary collegiate career, Judge Land was engaged in 
the private practice of law before being drafted into the Army in 1941, 
eventually rising to the rank of Major before being honorably 
discharged after World War II.
  After the war, Judge Land resumed his legal career and was 
subsequently elected to public office. He served in the Georgia State 
Senate from 1949 to 1950 and in 1955 he was appointed by Governor 
Marvin Griffin to serve as District Attorney.
  Following his service as State Senator and District Attorney, Judge 
Land was elected in 1964 to the Muscogee County Superior Court, a 
position in which he served until his retirement in 1988. As a Superior 
Court judge, he was lauded and respected for his high legal acumen, 
disciplined adherence to the rule of law and his stern, no-nonsense 
judicial temperament.
  Mr. Speaker, Judge Land possessed the intellect, courage, and 
fortitude necessary to grow as a lawyer and jurist and become one of 
our state's most renowned judges and preeminent judicial scholars. And, 
I will always respect him for his many outstanding professional 
achievements, substantive contributions to our community and his sage 
advice and counsel to me as I entered the Georgia political arena. But 
what I will remember most about Judge Land is his strength of 
character, his integrity, and his fidelity.
  My wife Vivian and I would like to extend our prayers and condolences 
to Judge Land's wife, Mary, and his four surviving children, John H. 
Land III, Martha Christensen, Jeffrey Land, and Jere Land.
  Though he will be greatly missed by his loving family and his many 
diverse friends of long standing, we can all be grateful that we had 
the opportunity to know, love, and have our lives touched by this 
exceptional human being!
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in celebrating the 
life of a great American and Georgia public figure of giant 
proportions--the late Judge John Henry Land of Muscogee County, 
Georgia.

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