Title
Judge John M. "Redjohn" Puryear, 1919 - 2007
Subject
Judges
Description
Although he was probate judge of Tuscaloosa County for ten years, "Redjohn" Puryear was known in Tuscaloosa for his many other endeavors.
Puryear was originally from Huntsville and moved to Tuscaloosa to attend the University of Alabama in the 1940s. He graduated with a degree in business administration in 1942.
After he returned from World War II, where he was a major in the Air Force, Puryear and a business partner, Bill Schuessler, launched The Corner, a drug/sundry store that became a local landmark at Bryant Drive and 10th Avenue. The store, just on the southeastern edge of the UA campus, became a popular spot for students to congregate and buy miscellaneous items. Among its regulars were future governor, Albert Brewer; football hero, Joe Namath; Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist, E.O. Wilson; and up-and-coming entrepreneurs, Millard Fuller and Morris Deas.
Former Gov. Albert Brewer, who knew Puryear from his days hanging out at The Corner, appointed him probate judge in 1968 to fill the unexpired term of the late Judge David Cochrane. He was elected to a six-year term in 1970 and served until current Probate Judge Hardy McCollum defeated him in 1976.
The next year, Puryear took the long-term post as coordinator of Continuing Legal Education at the University of Alabama. A devoted community builder, he was active in the American Cancer Society, Boy Scouts, United Way, the UA Alumni Association, First United Methodist Church and numerous other professional and civic organizations. He won the David Cochrane Award for promoting intergovernmental cooperation and service in 1976.
He met the woman who would become his wife, Jane Hinton, after spending four years in the Air Force, when a friend called her from The Corner and asked if she was interested in a date with Puryear. She said no, that she was not interested in dating someone she had never seen or met. But the friend put her cousin on the phone, who eventually convinced her that Puryear was a nice young man. They married a year later, in 1946. They had two daughters, Virginia Underwood and Jo Rutledge.
In retirement, Puryear -- or “Redjohn," as many knew him -- took up the hobby of making cane baskets. Puryear’s hand-woven baskets became a staple at Northport’s annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts. He picked up the hobby when he began to experiment with the materials his father used to make cane bottom chairs. He and his wife traveled the country, where he learned the craft from skilled artisans. He sold his baskets at every Kentuck festival since its inception.
Puryear was also an avid gardener and volunteered for the University of Alabama Arboretum. He taught elementary school students about growing vegetables.
Puryear is shown at the 2005 Communications Hall of Fame Banquet at the NorthRiver Yacht Club. He died in 2007, the day before he turned 89 years old.
Puryear was originally from Huntsville and moved to Tuscaloosa to attend the University of Alabama in the 1940s. He graduated with a degree in business administration in 1942.
After he returned from World War II, where he was a major in the Air Force, Puryear and a business partner, Bill Schuessler, launched The Corner, a drug/sundry store that became a local landmark at Bryant Drive and 10th Avenue. The store, just on the southeastern edge of the UA campus, became a popular spot for students to congregate and buy miscellaneous items. Among its regulars were future governor, Albert Brewer; football hero, Joe Namath; Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist, E.O. Wilson; and up-and-coming entrepreneurs, Millard Fuller and Morris Deas.
Former Gov. Albert Brewer, who knew Puryear from his days hanging out at The Corner, appointed him probate judge in 1968 to fill the unexpired term of the late Judge David Cochrane. He was elected to a six-year term in 1970 and served until current Probate Judge Hardy McCollum defeated him in 1976.
The next year, Puryear took the long-term post as coordinator of Continuing Legal Education at the University of Alabama. A devoted community builder, he was active in the American Cancer Society, Boy Scouts, United Way, the UA Alumni Association, First United Methodist Church and numerous other professional and civic organizations. He won the David Cochrane Award for promoting intergovernmental cooperation and service in 1976.
He met the woman who would become his wife, Jane Hinton, after spending four years in the Air Force, when a friend called her from The Corner and asked if she was interested in a date with Puryear. She said no, that she was not interested in dating someone she had never seen or met. But the friend put her cousin on the phone, who eventually convinced her that Puryear was a nice young man. They married a year later, in 1946. They had two daughters, Virginia Underwood and Jo Rutledge.
In retirement, Puryear -- or “Redjohn," as many knew him -- took up the hobby of making cane baskets. Puryear’s hand-woven baskets became a staple at Northport’s annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts. He picked up the hobby when he began to experiment with the materials his father used to make cane bottom chairs. He and his wife traveled the country, where he learned the craft from skilled artisans. He sold his baskets at every Kentuck festival since its inception.
Puryear was also an avid gardener and volunteered for the University of Alabama Arboretum. He taught elementary school students about growing vegetables.
Puryear is shown at the 2005 Communications Hall of Fame Banquet at the NorthRiver Yacht Club. He died in 2007, the day before he turned 89 years old.
Source
Tuscaloosa News Archive
Date
2005
Contributor
Brenda Harris (Description)
Type
Photograph
Identifier
794
Coverage
Tuscaloosa (AL)
Original Format
Photograph