COMMUNITY
In Memoriam : The Honorable Clyde L . Reese , III
HON . SARA H . DOYLE Georgia Court of Appeals DoyleS @ gaappeals . us
M y colleague of six years , Clyde , a / k / a Judge Clyde L . Reese III , was an imposing man with a beautiful smile and hardy laugh . Judge Reese was intelligent , thoughtful and quiet . When he spoke , you listened , and he was not afraid to speak his mind . I had the pleasure of serving on a Court of Appeals panel with Judge Reese three of the six years he worked at the Court . In a sea of big personalities , he always had a calming influence . He will be missed .
If you did not know Judge Reese , know that he accomplished much . At the age of 10 , along with two others , he integrated Pace Academy in 1969 . After graduation , Judge Reese attended Georgia State University , worked in residential real estate , and started law school at Mercer University in 1993 . After law school , he began practicing law as an Assistant Attorney General in the Georgia Department of Law under then Attorney General Michael Bowers . By 1999 , Judge Reese was the Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Community Health ( DCH ), the largest health care agency in the Executive Branch .
After a short stint in private practice , Judge Reese returned to state government as General Counsel of DCH . In 2010 , Governor Sonny Perdue appointed him Commissioner of DCH and the following year , Governor Nathan Deal appointed him as Commissioner of the Department of Human Services ( DHS ), the agency responsible for Georgia ’ s child welfare system , human services benefits , child support and aging programs . Judge Reese returned to DCH in 2013 as Commissioner overseeing 1,000 employees and managing a state and federal budget of over $ 14 billion .
To most , this would be a professional life well-accomplished . Judge Reese ' s public service was not over . Fortunately for the citizens of Georgia , Governor Nathan Deal appointed him to serve on the Court of Appeals beginning December 1 , 2016 where he served for the past six years . A proud Mercerian , he established the Judge Clyde Reese Book Award at the Law School in honor of his parents . The Award gives $ 1,000 to a deserving minority student to defray the cost of law books .
Out of all his accomplishments , Judge Reese was most proud of his family , five children and two grandchildren . As said most eloquently by Judge Herbert Phipps at Judge Reese ’ s service , his was a life well-lived ; we should not be sad that it is over , but joyful that it happened , and we had an opportunity to share in it .
Judge Sara Doyle sits on the Georgia Court of Appeals . She assumed office in 2009 , and served as chief judge of the Court of Appeals from 2015 to 2017 .
PHOTO CREDIT : WIKIPEDIA www . atlantabar . org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 21