Former Justice Court Judge Tommy (Judge) Touchstone died May 30th.
Judge Touchstone served 20 years as a court judge in Clarke County. He was elected in 1976 and retired in 1996. After his retirement from Clarke County, Touchstone continued his civil service working for East Mississippi State Hospital where he retired again with 30 years of total service to the state of Mississippi.
Born in 1946 to James and Ouida Stockman Touchstone, Tommy married his wife of 50 years, Betty Sanders Touchstone, in 1966. They later became the parents of two children, Richard and Lisa. They lived for two years in Atlanta, Georgia in the 60’s where he worked for a dental lab.
“I told Tommy that I and the young’uns were moving back to Clarke County and if you want to come you can,” Mrs. Betty said. “We had enough of Atlanta and we’ve lived here ever since.”
They built their home in Enterprise in 1972 and is where the Judge died last week with his wife beside him.
Beside their home is the shop where in the early days the Judge would conduct court as Justice Court Judge. It was permissible at one time for judges to conduct official court business at an office located at or beside their home. “He married many couples at his shop and never charged anyone a dime,” Mrs. Betty said. “He had an office in the shop with a waiting area and desk. He would hear cases at his shop and I have had many people tell me how fair he was and that he always gave people the benefit of the doubt.”
The Judge first ran for office at the suggestion of his wife who said he wore out a pair of shoes that first election year going door to door campaigning. She also added that it took him a long time because he liked to talk so much. “He loved the job and the people, just not the paperwork or the headache.”
“It was mind boggling that we had so many people attend (the funeral) and he had so many friends. We have even had people who he put in jail tell us that he was a good man,” Mrs. Betty said. “The Lord has blessed us, “she added.
Another passion that the Judge loved was drag racing. The Judge took their family car, which was a 1966 Chevy Super Sport, and converted it into a race car.
“That race car was always my competition,” Mrs. Betty said. “He had that car longer than me. We started dating in high school and he already had that car.
The Judge would take to car to local drag strip to race in Alabama, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, and Collinsville and did so up until his health became an issue with racing.
His son, Richard currently races at Battlefield in his father’s ’66 Chevy.
The Judge also worked as a substitute postal mail carrier and worked at the charcoal plant in Pachuta prior to becoming elected to office.
A complete obituary can found on Page 2.
