In Memoriam: Rhoda Jean Bryan Billings
Rhoda Jean Bryan Billings of Raleigh died Dec. 29 at age 88. Billings served as president of the North Carolina Bar Association and North Carolina Bar Foundation in 1991-92.
Born in Wilkesboro, Billings graduated from Berea College (1959) and Wake Forest University School of Law (1966). In 1968, Billings was elected to the original group of District Court judges in Forsyth County. She was the youngest and only female jurist in the group. In 1973, Billings became the youngest and first female law professor at Wake Forest University School of Law, where she taught until retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2003.
Gov. Jim Martin selected Billings to serve on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1985. In joining the court, she became only the second woman, and the first wife and mother, to serve North Carolina’s highest court. Several months later Gov. Martin elevated her to chief justice, where she served until 1987.
Billings became the first woman to serve as president of the NCBA in 1991. Her deep service to the NCBA included being a founding chair of both the Criminal Justice Section and the Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee, as well as chairing the Senior Lawyers Division. In 2012, Billings received the John J. Parker Memorial Award, the NCBA’s then-highest award.
In 2013, Wake Forest University awarded Billings with the Medallion of Merit, the highest honor given by the University, for her contributions educating generations of future lawyers. Billings will not only be remembered for her ground-breaking career, but for her unwavering dedication and service to the state and future generations of lawyers.