The Memorial Celebration of Life for the late Judge Paul Reeves Summers will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, at the First United Methodist Church in Somerville.
Judge Summers of Somerville died unexpectedly on Sept. 17, 2003, in Phoenix, Ariz. Judge Summers, 80, is survived by two his wife of 56 years, Peggy, two sons, Paul Garvan Summers, Tennessee Attorney General, and Phillip Mark Summers, Director of Operations at Cardinal Healthcare in Ontario, CA.; and three grandchildren, Isaac, Julia and Jessica.
Judge Summers was born on May 31, 1923, in Somerville, Tennessee. He received his undergraduate degree from Lambuth College in Jackson and his law degree from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. After graduation, he practiced law for many years in Somerville. Beginning in 1960, he served as a General Sessions Judge in Fayette County for twelve years and then as a Chancery Court Judge for the Ninth Division. In 1977, after serving for two years as the Executive Secretary for the Tennessee Supreme Court, he was appointed to the Western Section of the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Judge Summers retired from the Court of Appeals in 1982. He later served on the State Board of Education for three years under Governor Lamar Alexander.
Judge Summers’ military career spans 35 years. He was an instructor pilot at the Army Air Corp and served in the United States Air Force, the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and in the Tennessee Army National Guard. He retired in 1978 from the Tennessee Army National Guard with the rank of Brigadier General. Judge Summers received numerous decorations and awards including the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Legion of Merit.
Judge Summers was a Methodist, Scottish Rite Mason, and a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.