Tuesday March 19th, 2024 3:51AM

Gainesville lawyer, former president of the state bar dies

By AccessWDUN Staff

A Gainesville attorney, who was a former president of the State Bar of Georgia, has died.

Doug Stewart died Friday following an extended illness.  He was 80-years-old.

Stewart was an active partner in the Gainesville law firm of Stewart Melvin & Frost for fifty years.  He practiced throughout the State of Georgia in the both the State and Federal trial and appellate Courts.

He served in numerous capacities with both the State Bar of Georgia and the American Bar Association.  This included president of the State Bar 1981-1982.  Stewart served on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Bar Foundation for ten years (1983-1993), serving as both President and Vice-President.  In 1992, he received one of the State Bar’s highest accolades, the Distinguished Service Award.  In 2018, he was awarded the highest honor of the State Bar, the Thomas O. Marshall Professionalism Award.

Stewart served in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association for many years, as well as having served a three-year term representing the Sixth District on the Board of Governors of that organization.  

Outside his law career, he was a regular and active participant in local theater and musical productions, and was actively involved in the First United Methodist Church of Gainesville, teaching various Sunday School classes, singing in the choir and serving as Chairman of the Administrative Board and a member of the building committee for the current church.  According to his obituary, Stewart is one of the primary reasons for the success of the Georgia Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program both statewide and locally.  

 A Celebration of Life Service will be held at the First United Methodist Church, Gainesville, at 2:00 Tuesday, May 14.

 

 

  • Associated Categories: Homepage, Business News, Local/State News, Death / Obits News, Submitted News
  • Associated Tags: State Bar of Georgia, Stewart Melvin & Frost, Doug Stewart
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