Justice Fund Honors Armistead Maupin
Article Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Written By: Russell Rawlings
The late Armistead J. Maupin was honored Wednesday night (April 5) during a special Justice Fund Dedication Ceremony at the N.C. Bar Center in Cary. The ceremony took place in the James K. Dorsett Jr. Auditorium.
Past-President W. W. "T" Taylor |
Presenters included former NCBA President W. W. “T” Taylor, whose longtime partnership with the honoree is reflected in the Maupin Taylor nameplate. Thomas W. H. Alexander, a 30-year veteran of the firm, and M. Keith Kapp also presented remarks on behalf of Maupin Taylor, PA.
Kapp’s presentation featured excerpts from a 1995 Wake County Bar Association video interview of Maupin, who died July 26, 2005, at the age of 90.
Maupin was born to Alfred McGhee and Mary Armistead Jones Maupin in Raleigh on Nov. 10, 1914. He attended high school in Raleigh and graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1936. While working in Washington, D.C., Armistead earned an LL.B. from George Washington University Law School in 1940.
Maupin served with distinction in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to Raleigh as a member of Brassfield and Maupin, which later became Maupin Taylor. Armistead served as president of the Wake County Bar Association and the N.C. State Bar, was a member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and served in the ABA House of Delegates.
Maupin was a lifelong member of Christ Episcopal Church in Raleigh, serving as senior warden of the vestry and as vice chancellor of the Eastern Diocese of N.C. An Eagle Scout, he later served as president of the Occoneechee Council and was awarded the Silver Beaver for service to the Boy Scouts.
A descendant of conspicuous soldiers – both of his grandfathers fought for the Confederacy – Armistead was also descended from Revolutionary War officers who served under Gen. George Washington, qualifying him for membership in the N.C. Society of the Cincinnati. Armistead earned his own laurels as president general of the General Society of the Cincinnati, and was installed as a chevalier of the French Legion of Honor by the president of France in 1974. President Reagan appointed him chair of the American Battle of Monuments Commission.
An accomplished horseman and friend to animals great and small, Armistead was a founding member of the Triangle Fox Hunt and the Wake County SPCA.
Armistead and his wife Diana Jane Barton Maupin were the parents of Armistead Maupin, Jr., Anthony Maupin, and Jane Maupin Yates. Following the death of his first wife, he married Cheryl Erhard Powell who survives him.
From left, Anthony Maupin, Jane Maupin Yates and Cheryl Powell Maupin unveil Justice Fund plaque. |
Powell joined Anthony Maupin and Jane Maupin Yates, who traveled from her home in New Zealand to attend the ceremony, in unveiling the NCBA Foundation Endowment’s 79th Justice Fund.
A Justice Fund is a named endowment that honors those North Carolina lawyers, past and present, whose careers have demonstrated dedication to the pursuit of justice and outstanding service to the profession and the public. One or more contributors may establish a Justice Fund to honor a colleague, family member or friend.
Lawyers designated and honored by the creators of a Justice Fund receive special recognition in the form of a permanent plaque and biographical sketch maintained at the N.C. Bar Center.
The NCBA Foundation Endowment was established in 1987 to enable the foundation to fund programs and activities to better serve the public and the legal profession. As of January 2006, the endowment had awarded grants totaling $2,400,751 for 344 projects.