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61 Tenn. L. Rev. 395 (1993-1994)
William J. Harbison

handle is hein.journals/tenn61 and id is 407 raw text is: IN MEMORIAM: WILLIAM J. HARBISON* FRANK F. DROWOTA III* Former Chief Justice William J. Harbison will always be remembered as one of the greatest jurists in Tennessee's history. His leadership and intellect shaped the progress of the courts during the 1970s and 1980s. A brief sketch of his life reveals much about his commitment to his family, to the law, and to his community. Chief Justice Harbison, known to all as Bill, was born September 11, 1923, in Columbia, Tennessee. He graduated from Central High School in Columbia as valedictorian of his class in 1941, and entered Vanderbilt University that fall. In 1943, his college education was interrupted by World War II. From that date until 1946, he served in the United States Army, where he spent most of his time in the European Theater. After the war, Bill returned to Vanderbilt and received his B.A. in History, magna cum laude. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He entered the Vanderbilt School of Law in the fall of 1947 and graduated summa cum laude in 1950. He was editor in chief of the Vanderbilt Law Review, was Order of the Coif, and was named Founder's Medalist, an award given to the person with the highest grade point average. This average is the highest ever recorded in the law school. Even after graduation, Bill's interest in legal education continued. He loved to teach and did so for forty-three years. He served as lecturer at the Vanderbilt School of Law from 1950 through 1967, and as adjunct professor from 1967 until his untimely death on November 20, 1993. Beginning in 1991, he also taught at the Nashville School of Law. In 1952, Bill married the former Mary Elizabeth Coleman of Salisbury, North Carolina. Mary Lib often accompanied him when our court sat in Knoxville and Jackson and was considered an important member of the traveling team by all of us. He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He delighted in the accomplishments of his two children: Bill, * EDITOR'S NOTE: At the time of his death on November 20, 1993, Justice Harbison was in the process of writing an article for the Tennessee Law Review. The article, which compared the more important provisions of the Tennessee Constitution with their counterparts in the United States Constitution, was to be published in the Tennessee Constitutional Law Symposium in this issue of the Review. We regret that the article was unfinished at the time of Justice Harbison's death. ** Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court, 1980-Present. B.A. 1960, J.D. 1965, Vanderbilt University.

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