Alwine Mulhearn Smith Ragland - Submitted for the USGenWeb by Richard P. Sevier 5/2/06 USGenWeb NOTICE: All documents placed in the USGenWeb remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities, when written permission is obtained from the contributor, so long as all notices and submitter information are included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. ************************************************ Alwine Mulhearn Smith Ragland - Madison Parish, Louisiana From Monroe News Star, May 2, 2006 JUDGE ALWINE MULHEARN SMITH RAGLAND Funeral services for Judge Alwine Mulhearn Smith Ragland, 92, of Tallulah, LA will be held at 10:00 AM Wednesday, May 3, 2006, at First Baptist Church in Tallulah, LA with Rev. John Rushing, Rev. Jean Foreman, and Fred Fulton officiating. Interment will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery in Tallulah, LA under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, Sterlington Road, Monroe. She was born July 28, 1913 in Monroe, LA and passed away on Sunday, April 30, 2006 in Tallulah, LA. She graduated from Monroe City High School in 1930, received her Associate Arts Degree from Principia College in 1932, and earned a Juris Doctorate from Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, LA, in 1935. Judge Ragland remained in private practice until 1974 when she was elected as the Sixth Judicial District Judge, the first woman elected to a Louisiana district judgeship. She served in this capacity until 1992. She later served as judge for the Tallulah City Court. As a State District judge, she was instrumental in establishing an expedited hearing procedure relative to Family Support cases. This procedure led to the recovery of a record amount of funds for the support and maintenance of dependent children. The procedure and innovative process was instituted in other district courts around the state with the results being that similar to the Sixth Judicial District. Judge Ragland was one of the first State District Court judges to institute a computerized court case docket system that led to improved efficiency in regards to the court's time and resources. This system traced court case progress and probation payments and was considered to be an exemplary model for the future. Judge Ragland was actively involved in the development of opportunities for the economically deprived children in the sixth judicial district. She was instrumental in providing programs including swimming lessons, painting classes, basketball and wrestling clinics, as well as education field trips. She was a charter member of the Silver Waters Council of Girl Scouts of America, Past President of the Tallulah High PTA and Band Booster Association. Recently, Judge Ragland was actively involved in the Madison Parish Tourist Commission and the Madison Parish Historical Society. She played an integral part in securing and restoring the antebellum home, Hermoine House. Professional memberships included the American Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Association, American Judges Association, Louisiana Judges Association, Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (President), National Council of Juvenile Court Judges, Association of Trial Lawyers, Louisiana Trial Lawyer Association, and countless others. She was preceded in death by her parents, Peter Sherlock Mulhearn and Alwine Louisa Johanna Peters Mulhearn; husbands, LeRoy Smith, Sr. and Leroy Percy Ragland; brothers, Peter Sherlock Mulhearn, Jr., Thomas Henry Mulhearn, John Earnest Mulhearn, Robert Frederick Mulhearn and sisters, Caroline Mulhearn and Margaret Mulhearn Garrett. She is survived by a son, LeRoy Smith, Jr. and wife, Lydia Hoffman Smith of Tallulah; a daughter, Caroline Alwine Smith Christman and husband, Albert Cole Christman of Delhi; four grandchildren, Meredith Ann Antley and husband, Jeremy William Antley of Ruston, Frances Alwine Nixon and husband, Steven Price Nixon of Clinton, MS, Blair Smith of Baton Rouge, and Lana Rochelle Smith of Lafayette; two great-grandchildren, Elliot Price Nixon and Nicholas Alexander Nixon of Clinton, MS and great nephew, Matthew Avery. Pallbearers will be Prentiss A. (Skeeter) Wilks, John Carpenter, Fred Mulhearn, James Works, Paul Meeks, William (Cooter) Marsh, and Howard Zeigler. Honorary pallbearers will be Thomas H. Mulhearn, Jr., Joseph E. Mulhearn, Albert Paxton, and Paul Marsh. Visitation will be Tuesday from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM at First Baptist Church in Tallulah, LA. Memorials may be made to the charity of your choice.