Clande VanEverett David Emmons (1898-1977)

From the Akron Beacon Journal, August 12, 1929.

  The judicial benches of Ohio were peopled with oddly named judges in the first half of the 20th century and following the writeups on Judges Urbanus Saunders and Null Hodapp, we journey to Akron to highlight the life of Clande VanEverett David Emmons. Elected as municipal judge for Akron in 1929, Emmons served thirteen years in office and was later elected as Judge of the Summit County Court of Common Pleas. His tenure extended three decades and at the time of his retirement in 1973 had sat as a judge for nearly 44 years, being one of the longest-tenured jurists in the state. The son of VanEverett David (1868-1936) and Lilly (Williston) Emmons (1871-1951), Clande V.D. Emmons was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on November 25, 1898.

  An impressive figure in Summit County politics, VanEverett David Emmons served three terms in the Ohio House of Representatives and later won six terms in the state senate, where he served until his death. In 1899 the Emmons family had settled in Akron, where Clande attended the Henry Grade School and Central High School. He continued studies at Akron University, where he was a member of the football, track, and baseball teams. A veteran of World War I, Emmons pursued a law degree at the Western Reserve Law School in the early 1920s and graduated in 1924. He married in Akron on August 10, 1926, to Thelma McClister (1904-1995). The couple were wed for fifty years and would remain childless.

  Shortly after his admittance to the bar in 1924 Emmons established his practice in Akron, being a member of the firm of Emmons and Conant. Through the succeeding years, he became a leading club-man in his region, being a member of both the Akron and Ohio Bar Associations, the American Legion, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Moose Lodge, the Eagles Lodge, and Shriners. Emmons further distinguished himself in the masonic fraternity, being commander in chief of the Akron Consistory, Valley of Akron; a past wise master of the Ariel Chapter; an eminent commander of the Bethany Commandery; a past worshipful master of the W. Edwin Palmer Lodge; an illustrious master of the Akron Council; and a most wise master of the Cleveland Valley Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.

From the Akron Beacon Journal, August 5, 1929.

   In 1929 Clande Emmons made the jump into city politics, announcing his candidacy for municipal judge of Akron. Prior to that year's Republican primary campaign advertisements touting Emmons' candidacy appeared in city newspapers, with the Akron Beacon Journal noting that his endorsement "carries the names of over 1,00o people prominent in the business, social, fraternal, and political world." In a substantial notice featured in its August 12, 1929 edition, the Journal published a list of his promises, noting:

"Mr. Emmons' platform--To be punctual, to adjudge each case impartially within the shortest possible time, to strictly enforce the laws, to be guided in decision not by race, creed, class, color, religion or influence, but only and solely by the evidence and law that is applicable; to be courteous and just at all time to attorneys, and their clients and to speed up legal machinery."

  In August 1929 Emmons won the Republican primary and in the November general election was one of two city judges elected, polling 18,740 votes. He took his seat on the bench in January 1930 and served until his election to the court of common pleas in 1942. During his term Emmons sat as a trustee of the Akron Art Institute and won his fourth municipal court term in November 1941, garnering over 38,000 votes. An unsuccessful candidate for the Summit County Court of Common Pleas in November 1940, Emmons was again a candidate in 1942 and in August of that year won the primary. He went on to win the general election in November and took his seat on the common pleas court the following February. 

From the Akron Beacon Journal, August 10, 1942.

  Emmons' tenure on the court extended three decades, retiring in 1973. In December 1971 he set an unusual local record by granting his 15,000th divorce, having first presided over a divorce proceeding in February 1943. Following his retirement, he continued to serve on temporary assignment with the common pleas and Ninth District Court of Appeals until 1976. Emmons was also remarked as having "handled more jury cases annually than any other Summit County jurist." This long period of service saw Emmons gain further prominence in Akron civic affairs, where he had considerable impact. He would serve as a trustee and President of the Akron YMCA Board of Governors; was chairman of the Transportation Fund for Crippled and Burned Children; was a trustee of the local NAACP chapter; a campaign manager for the Akron University Building Levy; and was chairman of the Recommending Committee of the Summit County Draft Board.

  After a year of failing health, Clande V.D. Emmons died at the Akron City Hospital on April 14, 1977, aged 78. He and his wife had celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary the year prior, and following her death in 1995 Thelma Emmons was interred alongside her husband at the Rose Hill Burial Park in Fairlawn. Following his death Emmons was memorialized as a "kind, considerate, and thorough judge", one whose:

"Judicial temperment on the bench was almost legendary. No attorney, winner or loser, ever left his courtroom without realizing that someone had passed on the facts whose legal knowledge was second to none."

From the Akron Beacon Journal, April 15, 1977.