尊敬的John G. 海德
地区法官及社区领袖
John 海德 was born to John Edmund and Eunice Perdue 海德 on May 30, 1942, in Abilene, 德州. He lived his youth in Abilene where he enjoyed participating in Boy Scouts of America and serving others through the Royal Ambassadors of the Second Baptist Church. John attended Abilene High School and there he developed a skill for debate. 1960年，他以美国航空协会鹰级学生的身份毕业.
John entered Hardin-Simmons University in the fall of 1960 and while at HSU he participated in Varsity Debate, Pi Kappa Delta, Pi Gamma Mu and was also a member of the singing group, 的仆人. 那是作为一个学生，在Dr. Richard Kim that John developed a lifelong passion for learning and cultivated an insatiable sense of curiosity. Following completion of his bachelor’s degree in the field of Political Science in 1964, John was accepted into the law school at the University of 德州. John went on to earn a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1967.
During his final year of law school, John received his draft notice. He spent two years in active military service including a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam in 1969.
离开军队后, 约翰在米德兰定居下来, 德州 in 1970 at the age of twenty-eight and began work as an attorney for the City of Midland. It was during a 1972 trial that he met a young juror who would later become his wife. Following a whirlwind romance, Sharon Smith and John 海德 were married in 1973.
踏出信心的一步, John left City Hall in 1975 and entered into private practice beginning the new law firm of Freeman, 海德和马丁. 他将花14年的时间从事犯罪活动, civil and family law while continually increasing his knowledge in law and refining his courtroom skills. In 1989, John 海德 fulfilled a life-long dream when he ran for and was elected District Judge of the 238th District Court in Midland, 德州. He would serve in that capacity for the next twenty-two years upholding the law while serving as a paragon of respect, dignity and fairness to all who entered into his courtroom. Judge 海德 was known throughout the courthouse for his open door policy, 他的可用性和明智的建议.
Judge 海德 presided over three capital murder cases during his years on the bench. 另外, he navigated through one of the most complex civil cases in the history of the district, 在许多问题上开创先例. As a dedicated student of the law and its application, he rarely had a case reversed.
在他的法律职业之外, John 海德 maintained a passion for the local history of Midland County and for the recording and retelling of its storied past. 以令人羡慕的口才和智慧, 他写并谈到了这个地区的历史, humorously taking his readers and listeners back to the early days and lessons of the community’s founding. His efforts to keep the history of Midland and Midland County alive, earned him an even wider swath of community respect.
By his actions John 海德 showed the true meaning of living a Christian life. For more than twenty years, he taught Sunday School at the First Baptist Church in Midland. From 2002 to 2011 he faithfully served as a member of the HSU Board of Trustees. With a reputation for always putting others before himself, 约翰是善良的典范, 体贴, 作为一个不知疲倦地为他的社区工作的人.
John 海德 served his fellow Texans as a lawyer, judge, and legal scholar. 通过他对地域历史的热情, he served the people of Midland County by researching, recording and reminding them of those who built their community. 和, 作为尊严和尊重的典范, John 海德 was the strength and foundation for his family, 包括他的两个女儿, 惠特尼·海德和希拉里·海德·洛弗尔.
在与癌症抗争了两年之后, 约翰·海德于1月2日在米德兰去世, 2012年，六十九岁.
今天, it is a high honor for Hardin-Simmons University to recognize a life well-lived, 为了纪念她的同胞, and to posthumously induct the Honorable Judge John G. 海德走进领袖堂.
