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Keith Vaughan, left, and William Womble, presented Calder Womble Justice Fund.

The Calder Willingham Womble Justice Fund was dedicated Monday at the N.C. Bar Center in memory of the esteemed Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice attorney. Womble practiced with the firm bearing the name of his father, B. S. Womble, for 60 years, including an unprecedented period of growth from 1982-87 during which he chaired the firm’s Management Committee.

The restricted fund within the North Carolina Bar Association Foundation Endowment has been earmarked for the Loan Repayment Assistance Program of the Legal Aid of North Carolina Fund. Proceeds from Calder Willingham Womble Justice Fund will be restricted to LANC lawyers who graduated from the Duke University School of Law, from which Womble graduated in 1947.

The Calder Willingham Womble Justice Fund plaque.

President Charles L. Becton presided over the dedication ceremony. Introductory remarks were provided on behalf of the Womble Carlyle firm by Keith Vaughan, managing partner, and consulting member William F. Womble, past president of the NCBA and Calder Womble’s brother.

George Hausen, executive director of LANC, and Carol Spruill, associate dean for public interest and pro bono at the Duke University School of Law, provided words of appreciation on behalf of LANC and Duke Law, respectively, to members of the firm and family for making this fund possible.

Formal unveiling of the Justice Fund plaque was conducted by Allan Head, executive director of the NCBA. Family members led by Calder Womble’s wife, Martha, unveiled the plaque.

Martha Womble, center, leads unveiling of her husband's Justice Fund plaque.

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.

One or more contributors may establish a Justice Fund to honor a colleague, family member or friend through a combined gift of $35,000. Restricted funds such as the newest fund established in memory of Calder Womble are fulfilled upon attainment of a $100,000 threshold.

With these funds included, the LANC Fund has now received $863,000 toward its goal of $1 million. The contribution, as Hausen noted in his remarks, continues Womble Carlyle’s longstanding commitment to philanthropy and pro bono service.

“Womble Carlyle already stands as one of our biggest pro bono and financial benefactors,” Hausen said. “We have gone to that well so many times, and it has never been dry – they are always asking to do more.

“(This gift) to the LANC Fund is an act of extraordinary leadership and generosity, but it is entirely in keeping with the character and spirit of public service that we have come to regard as the norm at the firm.”

It is a firm, Vaughan noted, that changed dramatically under the leadership of Calder Womble.

“When Calder Womble became chairman of the firm in 1982, we had one office in Winston-Salem. By 1987 we had three offices, which may not seem like a lot today but it was a lot for the 1980s.

“In 1982, we had 54 attorneys, and 94 employees including staff and attorneys. By 1987, we had 193 attorneys, and 427 employees including staff and attorneys.”

Throughout this period of expansion, Vaughan added, Calder Womble provided the leadership that enabled the firm “to retain its basic culture and core values.

“He maintained an even temperament, a steady hand and a fabulous sense of humor, and was a mentor to all subsequent chairs of the firm.”

Calder Womble becomes the 12th member of the Womble Carlyle firm recognized through the establishment of a Justice Fund. Established in 1987, the NCBA Foundation Endowment has awarded more than $3 million in grants toward 407 projects benefitting the legal profession and the public.

A biography of Calder Womble, which shall remain on display at the N.C. Bar Center, follows in its entirety:

Calder Willingham Womble
1922 – 2008

Calder Willingham Womble was a brilliant, effective lawyer and civic leader. He was also one of the most enjoyable of people. Calder lived life to the fullest right up to the time of his death, which came peacefully at home as he slept, early on the morning of March 19, 2008. He was 85.

Calder was born in Winston-Salem June 25, 1922, the fifth of six children of Bunyan Snipes Womble and Edith Willingham Womble. Calder grew up in a close, loving, happy family environment. Meals were a family affair, seated in the dining room, with plenty of conversation. Sundays were Sunday School and Church at West End Methodist, often followed by family afternoon outings in the nearby Sauratown Mountains or on the Yadkin River or on open farmlands in the area, where the children, and friends, were free to run, play, hike and sometimes swim. Those years evoked many happy memories throughout Calder’s life. While Calder was yet a child, West End merged with and became Centenary United Methodist, where Calder was a lifelong, faithful member.

Calder attended local public schools, graduating from R. J. Reynolds High School in 1939. At Reynolds he played trombone in the high school band. During his high school years he also played with the Moravian Band at Easter. Following graduation from Reynolds, Calder went to Duke, receiving an A. B. in 1943. His legal education, also at Duke, was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the U. S. Navy Air Force (1943-46). A Lieutenant J. G., he flew transports from the Seattle area to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Returning to Duke when the war ended, Calder received his law degree in 1947.

After two years (1947-48) in the office of the Attorney General of North Carolina, Calder joined Womble, Carlyle, Martin & Sandridge (now Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice) where he practiced law and leadership for the next 60 years.   This year (2008) his firm celebrates the 132nd anniversary of its founding in 1876.

In 1950, Calder married Martha Hanes, beginning a 58-year marriage that produced a large, loving and fun-filled family consisting of son Ralph, daughters Edith, Joan and Gwyn and fourteen grandchildren. Martha was quoted in Calder’s obituary as saying “I love him more than Life.”

Calder’s professional life involved numerous successes including being the principal legal advisor, or one of the principal advisors, for businesses such as Piedmont Aviation, Wachovia Bank, Chatham Manufacturing, Hanes Companies, Turnpike Properties, Wachovia Realty Investments, Brad Ragan and British-American Insurance and by serving on the Boards of Directors of many of those and other similarly important businesses.

Calder served on the Firm Management Committee of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice for many years and as its Chairman (“Managing Partner”) from 1982 to 1987, leading the Firm’s metamorphosis from one of North Carolina’s long-time leading firms in Winston-Salem to a larger firm with offices in Raleigh and Charlotte and a nationwide practice involving the defense of products liability litigation. Calder was a long-time member, and Patron, of the North Carolina Bar Association, as well as a member of his local bar and the American Bar Association.

“Away from the office”, Calder might be found on the tennis court, the golf course, at the bridge table, at a good party, traveling, in a duck or goose blind, walking with his dog through woods and fields at home or Roaring Gap, or most anywhere just enjoying family and friends.

Calder’s civic contributions and accomplishments were truly prodigious. Calder conceived the idea for Winston-Salem Civic Ventures and served as its first Chairman, being singularly responsible for much of the success of that organization in the 1980’s in carrying out Winston-Salem’s economic development strategic plan, including such projects as the expansion of the convention center, stroll way, Corpening Plaza, Triad Park Building (now BB&T Financial Center), improvements to Fourth, Trade and Liberty Streets and other initiatives.

Calder succeeded in these matters by garnering support from both the private sector and local government, which he was able to do in large part because he was fair to all and possessed of impeccable integrity. Calder served as Campaign Chairman of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County United Way in 1960 and Chairman of the Board of the local Red Cross in 1953. He provided counsel and leadership to Salem Academy and College as a member of its Board of Trustees for thirty years (1963-1993) and thereafter. Following a term as Chairman of the Board, he was elected Life Member of that Board, the only trustee ever so honored. Calder contributed to his community generously, quietly and effectively never seeking recognition or plaudits for himself. He was completely unpretentious.

Calder is survived by Martha, their four children and fourteen grandchildren, his brother Bill, sister Edith Chatham and numerous nieces and nephews, as well as law partners and innumerable friends. As he had been heard to say “I’ve lived a remarkable life.” And he did!

Throughout his career, Calder’s important contributions to the growth and development of his law firm, his dedication to the pursuit of justice and his outstanding service to his chosen profession and the public make it most fitting to honor Calder and his memory with this Justice Fund, where he joins these 11 members of his firm: Clement Manly, William M. Hendren, B. S. Womble, Linville K. Martin, Irving E. Carlyle, W. Pendleton Sandridge, Leon L. Rice, Jr., William F. Womble, Alfred L. Purrington, Jr., Wade M. Gallant, Jr., and Charles. F. Vance, Jr.—along with all others who have been so honored.