Belker Davenport Paschall Jr. (1924-1979)

Portrait from the February 10, 1974 Corsicana Daily Sun.

    A prominent practitioner of law in Wood County, Texas, Belker Davenport Paschall Jr. served eight years as District-County Attorney of Wood County and also attained high rank in the Knights Templar fraternal organization, holding the post of Grand Warder of the Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar of Texas in the mid-1970s. 

  The son of Belker Davenport Paschall Sr. and Lena Paschall, Belker D. Paschall Jr. was born on May 5, 1924, in Dallas, Texas. A distinguished attorney in his own right, Belker Paschall Sr. (1893-1972) practiced law for over three decades in Dallas and in 1940 was an unsuccessful candidate for Wood County attorney. Belker Paschall Jr. began his schooling in Dallas, being a student at the Dallas Technical High School.  Following his graduation from that school in 1941 Paschall enlisted in the U.S. Navy and during WWII was a "Seabee", being a Machinist Mate, 3rd class with the 68th U.S. Naval  Construction Battalion. 

   At the conclusion of his service, Paschall returned to Texas and would later follow in his father's stead and began the study of law. He enrolled at Houston's South Texas College of Law and received his law degree from that institution in 1952. In 1954 he was admitted to the Texas bar and in the following year entered into practice at Houston, Texas. Paschall married to Alice Paschall (1921-1982) and later had two children, Belker Davenport III and Laura. 

   Around 1960 Paschall moved to Winnsboro, Texas to continue his practice and in 1969 was elected as County and District Attorney for Wood County. He would serve in that post for eight years, leaving office in 1977. Paschall was a past President of the Wood County Bar Association and was a longstanding member of both the Masonic and Knights Templar fraternity in Texas. The Corsicana Daily Sun noted in its February 10, 1974 edition that Paschall was a member of the Washington Chapter No. 2 of Royal Arch Masons as well as being a Past Commander of Ascension Commandery No. 25. Knights Templar of Tyler, Texas. 

  In 1972-73 Belker Paschall served as Grand Sentinel of the Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar of Texas and in 1974 served as Grand Warder. He continued to be affiliated with that order until his death on December 27, 1979. Just 55 years of age at the time of his passing, Paschall died of injuries he had received in a car accident that had occurred near Quitman, Texas. He was survived by his wife and children and was later interred at the Shady Grove Cemetery in Winnsboro, Wood County, Texas.

Portrait from the 1979 Texas Bar Journal.