[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 27, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE JAMES PEARCE BRICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. H. MORGAN GRIFFITH

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 27, 2016

  Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself and Congressman Bob 
Goodlatte, I submit these remarks to commemorate the life of The 
Honorable James Pearce Brice, a devoted jurist and public servant to 
the Commonwealth of Virginia, who was born in Roanoke, Virginia, on 
August 7, 1926, and passed away on September 15, 2016, at the age of 
90.
  In our years of practicing law, both Congressman Goodlatte and I had 
the pleasure of arguing in front of Judge Brice. We benefited from the 
expertise and wisdom he shared, as a street lawyer and a personal 
mentor, accumulated from an accomplished life.
  At the age of 16, Judge Brice entered the Virginia Military 
Institute. He joined the Merchant Marines, as soon as he turned 18, 
during World War II. He bravely served as a helmsman on an oil tanker 
in the North Atlantic and suffered the loss of his brother, Robert, on 
Omaha Beach in 1944.
  Before war ended, Judge Brice joined the United States Army and 
became a Japanese translator and interrogator. With his intelligence 
and flare for foreign languages, he continued serving with distinction 
in the Army Counterintelligence Corps in northern Hokkaido after Japan 
surrendered.
  Upon returning from abroad, Judge Brice went back to school and 
obtained his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, then 
earned his law degree from Washington and Lee University in 1954.
  He launched his legal career in private practice back in his hometown 
of Roanoke. He spent time working for the Veterans Administration, and 
then the United States District Attorney's Office, as an assistant 
prosecutor. Judge Brice was dedicated to his vocation. At the age of 
42, he was appointed to the bench of the Roanoke General District 
Court, where he served as judge from 1967 through 1987. He retired as 
the chief general district judge of the 23rd Judicial Circuit, but 
continued to travel across the commonwealth as a substitute jurist 
until the early 2000s.
  Judge Brice had a tremendous impact on many of our communities, as 
well upon countless individuals all across the region. Judge Brice will 
be remembered as a family man and a friend to many. We always 
appreciated his outgoing nature and shared his love of history. Judge 
Brice left the repeated impression of being a compassionate and fair 
arbiter, and he will be forever remembered by how much he believed in 
redemption. May his spirit of fairness and compassion remain with us. 
He will be greatly missed, but his legacy and influence will be long 
remembered across the entire western region of Virginia.
  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Judge Brice's wife of 62 years, 
Phyllis; his three sons, James, Steven, and Michael; his three 
grandchildren, Taryn, Trey, and Melissa; his family, friends, and many 
loved ones. May God give them comfort during this difficult time.

                          ____________________