Warlick Carr
Encyclopedia
Marvin Warlick Carr was a prominent American
attorney
in Lubbock
, Texas
, and the brother of former Texas Attorney General
Waggoner Carr
. Carr specialized in business transactions, real estate, business litigation, probate, estate planning, and mediation.
near Dallas
, the second of four children to Vincent Carr (1892–1983) and the former Ruth Warlick (1897–1985). The family moved to Lubbock in 1932, when Vincent Carr's bank
in Fairlie failed. The Carr brothers, though they were three years apart in age, graduated in 1936 from Lubbock High School
. In 1940, the two graduated with bachelor of arts
degrees from Texas Tech University
in Lubbock. Warlick's degree was in government
.
At both institutions, the Carr brothers excelled on the debate
teams and won numerous tournaments. After Texas Tech, Warlick Carr entered Columbia University
Law School in New York City
but transferred after one year to the University of Texas School of Law
in Austin
, which Waggoner was attending. Warlick graduated with honors in April 1947 with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.
His law school education was interrupted by three and a half years of service in the United States Army Air Corps
, the forerunner of the Air Force
. Carr entered as a private and was discharged as a captain in the Intelligence Corps. Returning to UT, Carr was elected to The Chancellors and to the Order of the Coif
and served as student editor of the Texas Law Review
.
Center, where he remained until his death.
In 1962, Carr was one of the attorneys who tried the only civil suit against Billie Sol Estes
, a Pecos
financier
accused of fraud and misrepresentation. Carr directed the filing of some thirty lawsuits in a 24-hour period at a time when such matters were produced on a manual typewriter
.
Carr was recognized in 1991 by the Lubbock County Bar Association as a "Distinguished Senior Lawyer". In 1998, he was named the "Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer" by the Texas Bar Foundation. A former president of Lubbock Rotary International
, Carr was a Paul Harris Fellow, a prestigious award named for the founder of Rotary.
Carr was a member of the State Board of Law Examiners from 1977–1997 and was the chairman of the board for the last six years of his tenure. He was the second longest-serving attorney on the board. At the time of Carr's death, John Simpson, chairman of the Board of Law Examiners, recalled that the meticulous Carr was never seen without a suit and tie and never removed his jacket when he was in the office.
Carr was admitted to practice in all state courts, in the United States District Court for Northern District of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
, and the United States Supreme Court. Carr was a member of the Canadian River
Municipal Water Authority, the Lubbock Area Foundation, Lubbock Symphony Board, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
, and the Lubbock Board of City Development. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Lubbock and the Methodist Hospital Foundation.
The Carrs were originally Democrats
. Waggonner Carr carried the Democratic banner against Republican
U.S. Senator John G. Tower in the 1966 campaign. However, prior to his death, Warlick Carr was a donor to John Cornyn
, the Republican who holds the same Senate seat that Tower first won in 1961. In the 2008 general election
, Cornyn easily defeated the Democratic State Representative
Rick Noriega
of Harris County
.
, Texas, the daughter of Rex and Dorothy Ragan. She attended elementary school in Big Spring and moved to Sweetwater
, where she graduated in 1940 from Sweetwater High School. She then attended Texas Tech and the University of Denver
in Denver
, Colorado
. She was a draftsman for an oil company and then a designer for the former Decorator's Studio in Lubbock as well as an active community figure.
The Carrs had two children, Leanne Carr and husband Robert Benedict Meyer, Jr. (born ca. 1943), of Lake Forest
, Illinois
, and Bradley Warlick Carr and wife Patti Ann (both born ca. 1956) of Horseshoe Bay
, and three granddaughters, Mallory and Lindsey Meyer, and Natalie Carr Sartell and husband Ryan. The marriage of Leanne Carr and Bob Meyer, originally from McConnelsville, Ohio
, was carried in The New York Times
on September 19, 1982. It was his second marriage, the first having ended in divorce. At the time of the marriage, Meyer was vice president of the World Banking Group of the Chemical Bank in New York City. Carr also had a brother, Dr. Robert L. Carr and wife Betty; a sister, Virginia Campbell Carter and husband Bill, all of Lubbock, and sister-in-law, Ernestine Story Carr (born 1920) of Austin, the widow of Waggoner Carr.
. He died three months later at his Lubbock residence. His brother had also died of cancer four years earlier, after having survived a decade with the disease.
Donald Hunt (born June 22, 1934), who practiced law with Carr for forty-seven years, described his colleague as "my mentor. He had respect for the law and translated that to others." According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
, Carr was best known for having been "detail-oriented and meticulous in his preparation for trial [and for his] attributes [of] integrity, honesty and class." Hunt called his friend "the pole star to which all other attorneys should be measured. He was the one that shined brightest in the heavens."
The Carrs are interred at Resthaven Cemetery in Lubbock.
Lubbock attorney George Gilkerson said that Carr was "an outstanding person, a pillar of integrity, and [we] likely won't ever see someone like him again. think we lost a giant of a lawyer and a very true advocate. He was very well thought of -- even by his foes."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and the brother of former Texas Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Waggoner Carr
Waggoner Carr
Vincent Waggoner Carr was a Democratic Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and Attorney General of Texas.-Early years, education, military service:...
. Carr specialized in business transactions, real estate, business litigation, probate, estate planning, and mediation.
Early years, education, military
Carr was born in Fairlie in Hunt CountyHunt County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 76,596 people, 28,742 households, and 20,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 32,490 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile...
near Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, the second of four children to Vincent Carr (1892–1983) and the former Ruth Warlick (1897–1985). The family moved to Lubbock in 1932, when Vincent Carr's bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
in Fairlie failed. The Carr brothers, though they were three years apart in age, graduated in 1936 from Lubbock High School
Lubbock High School
Lubbock High School is a 5A high school serving grades nine to twelve in Lubbock, Texas . Part of the Lubbock Independent School District, the school is known for its academic program and for the fact that it has produced a number of talented musicians, vocalists, businessmen, and scientists over...
. In 1940, the two graduated with bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degrees from Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
in Lubbock. Warlick's degree was in government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
.
At both institutions, the Carr brothers excelled on the debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
teams and won numerous tournaments. After Texas Tech, Warlick Carr entered Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Law School in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
but transferred after one year to the University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...
in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, which Waggoner was attending. Warlick graduated with honors in April 1947 with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.
His law school education was interrupted by three and a half years of service in the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, the forerunner of the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. Carr entered as a private and was discharged as a captain in the Intelligence Corps. Returning to UT, Carr was elected to The Chancellors and to the Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
and served as student editor of the Texas Law Review
Texas Law Review
The Texas Law Review is a student-edited and produced law review published by the University of Texas School of Law . It publishes 7 issues per academic year, ranks number 11 on Washington & Lee University's list, and ranks number 4 in Mikhail Koulikov's rankings of law reviews by social impact...
.
Private law practice
Upon graduation, he and Waggoner started their own firm in Lubbock under the name Carr & Carr. When Waggoner was elected county attorney of Lubbock County, Warlick joined the existing Lubbock firm of Bradley & Keys. In 1960, Warlick Carr became an organizing member of the firm of Key, Carr, Carr & Clark, a firm that stayed in existence, under varying names, until 2000. In that year he joined the firm of Mullin, Hoard & Brown, LLP, with offices in the Wells FargoWells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
Center, where he remained until his death.
In 1962, Carr was one of the attorneys who tried the only civil suit against Billie Sol Estes
Billie Sol Estes
Billie Sol Estes is an American former financier best known for his association with U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. Mr. Estes currently lives in Granbury, Texas.-Fraud charges:...
, a Pecos
Pecos, Texas
Pecos is the largest city in and the county seat of Reeves County, Texas, United States. It is situated in the river valley on the west bank of the Pecos River at the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Trans-Pecos region of west Texas and near the southern border of New Mexico...
financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
accused of fraud and misrepresentation. Carr directed the filing of some thirty lawsuits in a 24-hour period at a time when such matters were produced on a manual typewriter
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
.
Carr was recognized in 1991 by the Lubbock County Bar Association as a "Distinguished Senior Lawyer". In 1998, he was named the "Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer" by the Texas Bar Foundation. A former president of Lubbock Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, Carr was a Paul Harris Fellow, a prestigious award named for the founder of Rotary.
Carr was a member of the State Board of Law Examiners from 1977–1997 and was the chairman of the board for the last six years of his tenure. He was the second longest-serving attorney on the board. At the time of Carr's death, John Simpson, chairman of the Board of Law Examiners, recalled that the meticulous Carr was never seen without a suit and tie and never removed his jacket when he was in the office.
Carr was admitted to practice in all state courts, in the United States District Court for Northern District of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
, and the United States Supreme Court. Carr was a member of the Canadian River
Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....
Municipal Water Authority, the Lubbock Area Foundation, Lubbock Symphony Board, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
, and the Lubbock Board of City Development. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Lubbock and the Methodist Hospital Foundation.
The Carrs were originally Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Waggonner Carr carried the Democratic banner against Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
U.S. Senator John G. Tower in the 1966 campaign. However, prior to his death, Warlick Carr was a donor to John Cornyn
John Cornyn
John Cornyn, III is the junior United States Senator for Texas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 111th U.S. Congress....
, the Republican who holds the same Senate seat that Tower first won in 1961. In the 2008 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, Cornyn easily defeated the Democratic State Representative
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
Rick Noriega
Rick Noriega
Richard Joel "Rick" Noriega was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 145 in eastern Houston, first elected in 1998. He was the Democratic nominee for the Texas United States Senate election, 2008 against the one-term Republican incumbent John Cornyn...
of Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
.
Family
On April 30, 1949, Carr married the former Billilee "Bee" Ragan (July 28, 1923–April 18, 2010), an interior designer originally from Big SpringBig Spring, Texas
Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 25,233 at the 2000 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, Abilene to the east, Lubbock to the north, and San Angelo...
, Texas, the daughter of Rex and Dorothy Ragan. She attended elementary school in Big Spring and moved to Sweetwater
Sweetwater, Texas
Sweetwater is the county seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,415 at the 2000 census.-History:Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning...
, where she graduated in 1940 from Sweetwater High School. She then attended Texas Tech and the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. She was a draftsman for an oil company and then a designer for the former Decorator's Studio in Lubbock as well as an active community figure.
The Carrs had two children, Leanne Carr and husband Robert Benedict Meyer, Jr. (born ca. 1943), of Lake Forest
Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and Bradley Warlick Carr and wife Patti Ann (both born ca. 1956) of Horseshoe Bay
Horseshoe Bay, Texas
Horseshoe Bay is a city in Burnet and Llano Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Prior to its incorporation in September 2005, it was a census-designated place . The CDP population was 3,337 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, and three granddaughters, Mallory and Lindsey Meyer, and Natalie Carr Sartell and husband Ryan. The marriage of Leanne Carr and Bob Meyer, originally from McConnelsville, Ohio
McConnelsville, Ohio
McConnelsville is a village in Morgan County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,676 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County. As of October 19 2011, the mayor is John Walter Finley.-Geography:...
, was carried in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on September 19, 1982. It was his second marriage, the first having ended in divorce. At the time of the marriage, Meyer was vice president of the World Banking Group of the Chemical Bank in New York City. Carr also had a brother, Dr. Robert L. Carr and wife Betty; a sister, Virginia Campbell Carter and husband Bill, all of Lubbock, and sister-in-law, Ernestine Story Carr (born 1920) of Austin, the widow of Waggoner Carr.
Death and legacy
In April 2008, Carr broke a leg, and physicians discovered his body to have been permeated with cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
. He died three months later at his Lubbock residence. His brother had also died of cancer four years earlier, after having survived a decade with the disease.
Donald Hunt (born June 22, 1934), who practiced law with Carr for forty-seven years, described his colleague as "my mentor. He had respect for the law and translated that to others." According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal is a newspaper based in Lubbock, Texas, U.S. It is owned by the Morris Communications Company.-History:The Lubbock Avalanche was founded in 1900 by John James Dillard and Thad Tubbs. According to Dillard, the name "Avalanche" was chosen due to his desire that the...
, Carr was best known for having been "detail-oriented and meticulous in his preparation for trial [and for his] attributes [of] integrity, honesty and class." Hunt called his friend "the pole star to which all other attorneys should be measured. He was the one that shined brightest in the heavens."
The Carrs are interred at Resthaven Cemetery in Lubbock.
Lubbock attorney George Gilkerson said that Carr was "an outstanding person, a pillar of integrity, and [we] likely won't ever see someone like him again. think we lost a giant of a lawyer and a very true advocate. He was very well thought of -- even by his foes."