Changes

| office3=Judge of the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit​

| office3=Judge of the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit​

| term_start3=1998​

| term_start3=1998​

| term_end3=[[Incumbent]]​

| term_end3=2017 (retired)​

| birth_date=November 11, 1946​

| birth_date=November 11, 1946​

| birth_place=Minden, Webster Parish, [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]

| birth_place=Minden, Webster Parish, [[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]

[[Richard Maxwell Drew]] (great-great-grandfather)<br>​

[[Richard Maxwell Drew]] (great-great-grandfather)<br>​

[[Joseph Barton Elam, Jr.]] (maternal grandfather)<br>​

[[Joseph Barton Elam, Jr.]] (maternal grandfather)<br>​

Joseph Barton Elam,Sr. (great-grandfather)<br>​

Joseph Barton Elam, Sr. (great-grandfather)<br>​

Charles Wheaton Elam (great-uncle)<br> ​

Charles Wheaton Elam (great-uncle)<br> ​

[[Harvey Locke Carey]] (maternal uncle by marriage)​

[[Harvey Locke Carey]] (maternal uncle by marriage)​

| footnotes='''Notes'''

| footnotes='''Notes'''

(1) A [[lawyer]] and [[judge]], Drew is also known throughout [[Louisiana]] for his Harmon Drew Band, which has performed sporadically for more than four decades.​<br>

(1) A [[lawyer]] and [[judge]], Drew was also known throughout [[Louisiana]] for his Harmon Drew Band, which has performed sporadically for more than four decades.​<br>

(2) Drew is descended from among the first inhabitants of Webster Parish.​ Most of his male family members have served as judges.

(2) Drew was a descendant of the first inhabitants of Webster Parish.​ Most of his male family members have served as judges.

(3) Drew and his wife Jean operate as a legal team in his appellate court office in [[Shreveport]].​

(3) Drew and his wife Jean operated as a legal team in his appellate court office in [[Shreveport]].​

}}​​

}}​​

'''Richard Harmon Drew, Jr.''', known as '''Harmon Drew, Jr.''' (November 11, 1946 &ndash; December 17, 2023), was a [[Louisiana]] fifth-generation [[judge]], legal lecturer, and rhythm-and-blues [[musician]]. His principal service was on the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit, based in [[Shreveport]].​

'''Richard Harmon Drew, Jr.''', known as '''Harmon Drew, Jr.''' (November 11, 1946 &ndash; December 17, 2023), was a [[Louisiana]] fifth-generation [[judge]], legal lecturer, and rhythm-and-blues [[musician]]. His principal service was on the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Second Circuit, based in [[Shreveport]], a post he held from 1998 until his retirement in 2017.​<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ktbs.com/news/retired-2nd-circuit-court-of-appeal-judge-harmon-drew-has-died/article_be29be1a-9dcf-11ee-828d-a748b1f06a27.html|title=Retired 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Harmon Drew has died|publisher=KTBS-TV|date=December 17, 2023|accessdate=December 19, 2023}}</ref>

==Ancestry==

==Ancestry==

Drew was born to Richard Harmon Drew, Sr., and the former Margaret Taylor Elam (1919–1977), a native of Mansfield in DeSoto Parish who grew up in Shreveport and [[Baton Rouge]]. Margaret Drew was a direct descendant of [[U.S. President]] [[Zachary Taylor]] through Taylor's son, [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[General]] Richard Taylor. Mrs. Zachary Taylor was also named Margaret.<ref>''Minden Herald'' and ''Webster Review,'' May 2, 1957, p. 8.</ref>

Drew was born to Richard Harmon Drew, Sr., and the former Margaret Taylor Elam (1919–1977), a native of Mansfield in DeSoto Parish who grew up in Shreveport and [[Baton Rouge]]. Margaret Drew was a direct descendant of [[U.S. President]] [[Zachary Taylor]] through Taylor's son, [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[General]] Richard Taylor. Mrs. Zachary Taylor was also named Margaret.<ref>''Minden Herald'' and ''Webster Review,'' May 2, 1957, p. 8.</ref>

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Margaret Drew's paternal grandfather was [[Joseph Barton Elam, Sr.]] (1821-1885), the first [[mayor]] of Mansfield, a state representative, and a [[U.S. Representative]] for Louisiana's 4th congressional district.. Her uncle, Charles Wheaton Elam, was also a state representative and a founder of the [[Louisiana State University]] Law Center. Margaret and Harmon Drew, Sr., were married in an [[Episcopal]] Church in Baton Rouge on [[Pearl Harbor]] Day 1940, exactly a year before the attack on the [[United States]] by the empire of [[Japan]]. Drew and his two sisters, Elizabeth Weaver and Caldwell Colvin, were reared, like their mother, as Episcopalians. The senior Drew, however, retained [[Presbyterian]] affiliation. Harmon and Jean Drew are members of St. John's Episcopal Church near their home though Jean was reared as a [[United Methodist]].

Margaret Drew's paternal grandfather was [[Joseph Barton Elam, Sr.]] (1821-1885), the first [[mayor]] of Mansfield, a state representative, and a [[U.S. Representative]] for Louisiana's 4th congressional district. Her uncle, Charles Wheaton Elam, was also a state representative and a founder of the [[Louisiana State University]] Law Center. Margaret and Harmon Drew, Sr., were married in an [[Episcopal]] Church in Baton Rouge on [[Pearl Harbor]] Day 1940, exactly a year before the attack on the [[United States]] by the empire of [[Japan]]. Drew and his two sisters, Elizabeth Weaver and Caldwell Colvin, were reared, like their mother, as Episcopalians. The senior Drew, however, retained [[Presbyterian]] affiliation. Harmon and Jean Drew are members of St. John's Episcopal Church near their home though Jean was reared as a [[United Methodist]].

In 1952, while speeding through Minden, the [[singer]] Lefty Frizzell, originally from Corsicana in Navarro County, [[Texas]], crashed his [[Cadillac]] into the Drew home. Drew, Jr,. slept through the mishap, but he recalls that his father having always thought that Frizzell had a "bad attitude"."<ref>Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., to Earlene Mendenhall Lyle, Lyle newsletter, May 4, 2008.</ref>​

In 1952, while speeding through Minden, the [[singer]] Lefty Frizzell, originally from Corsicana in Navarro County, [[Texas]], crashed his [[Cadillac]] into the Drew home. Drew, Jr,. slept through the mishap, but he recalls that his father having always thought that Frizzell had a "bad attitude"."<ref>Judge Harmon Drew, Jr., to Earlene Mendenhall Lyle, Lyle newsletter, May 4, 2008.</ref>​

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==Early years==

==Early years==

In 2008, Mrs. Drew required emergency abdominal surgery that saved her life but left her in need of repeated blood transfusions because of debilitating [[anemia]]. In December 2013, law enforcement personnel in northwest Louisiana held a blood drive because of Mrs. Drew's needs and to honor the couple for their teaching of the peace officers.<ref name=blooddrive/>

In 2008, Mrs. Drew required emergency abdominal surgery that saved her life but left her in need of repeated blood transfusions because of debilitating [[anemia]]. In December 2013, law enforcement personnel in northwest Louisiana held a blood drive because of Mrs. Drew's needs and to honor the couple for their teaching of the peace officers.<ref name=blooddrive/>

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The Drews have two children. Richard Harmon Drew, III (born 1974), obtained a [[Ph.D.]] in political science at the [[University of Virginia]] in Charlottesville, [[Virginia]]. Known as "Richard," he graduated from LSU Law School in 2009. Their daughter, Georgia Drew Boswell, graduated from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in Ruston and holds a Master of Science in hospitality and [[tourism]] from the University of New Orleans. On March 12, 2014, the Boswells' 15-month-old son, Drew Joseph Boswell, died suddenly in his crib at his home in New Orleans.<ref>Drew Joseph Boswell obituary, ''New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' March 14, 2014.</ref>

The Drews have two children. Richard Harmon Drew, III (born 1974), obtained a [[Ph.D.]] in political science at the [[University of Virginia]] in Charlottesville, [[Virginia]]. Known as "Richard," he graduated from LSU Law School in 2009 and practices law in Shreveport. Their daughter, Georgia Drew Boswell, graduated from [[Louisiana Tech University]] in Ruston and holds a Master of Science in hospitality and [[tourism]] from the University of New Orleans. On March 12, 2014, the Boswells' 15-month-old son, Drew Joseph Boswell, died suddenly in his crib at his home in New Orleans.<ref>Drew Joseph Boswell obituary, ''New Orleans Times-Picayune,'' March 14, 2014.</ref>

==Three judgeships==

==Three judgeships==

Drew's original band, "The Monks," played mostly [[Bob Dylan]] tunes.  Two years later Drew coined a new name, "Ivy Peebles Medicine Show Band," to recognize the late justice of the peace who had performed the marriage of the band's one-time drummer, Max Kees. Early gigs were mostly for Minden High School after-football game dances. They often were paid $25 (203 in 2019 dollars). The band continued as Drew went to  college and law school.

Drew's original band, "The Monks," played mostly [[Bob Dylan]] tunes.  Two years later Drew coined a new name, "Ivy Peebles Medicine Show Band," to recognize the late justice of the peace who had performed the marriage of the band's one-time drummer, Max Kees. Early gigs were mostly for Minden High School after-football game dances. They often were paid $25 (203 in 2019 dollars). The band continued as Drew went to  college and law school.

Margaret Martin summed up Drew this way: "Music is in his blood, but he is serious about his law career and proud that he is a fifth generation lawyer/judge."​

Margaret Martin summed up Drew this way: "Music is in his blood, but he is serious about his law career and proud that he is a fifth generation lawyer/judge."​  

 

Retired from the bench, Judge Drew died of a lengthy illness in his home in Minden. He had turned seventy-seven five weeks after his birthday.

Retired from the bench, Judge Drew died of a lengthy illness at his home in Minden. He had turned seventy-seven five weeks after his birthday. Drew's death came a week after the passing of another Minden-born judge, [[Lane Pittard]].

==References==

==References==