Julian Edwin Bailes, Sr.

Julian Edwin Bailes, Sr.
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Judge of the Louisiana 10th Judicial District Court
In office 1960–1972
Personal details
Born	(1915-01-06)January 6, 1915 Longview, Texas, USA
Died	Shreveport, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Predeceased by: (1) Georgia Butler Bailes (2) Nell Sandefur Bailes
Children	Georgia Ann Bailes Scott Juliana Bailes Lipe Sara Nell Bailes Williams Dr. Julian Edwin Bailes, Jr. Emily Bailes Haines 18 grandchildren 21 great-grandchildren
Parents	Larry Thaddeus and Ethel Ballard Bailes
Alma mater	Natchitoches Central High School Northwestern State University Louisiana State University Law Center
Occupation	Judge Attorney
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	First lieutenant
Battles/wars	Battle of the Bulge in World War II

Julian Edwin Bailes, Sr. (January 6, 1915 – February 1, 2010), was a judge in the Louisiana 10th Judicial District Court from 1960 until his retirement in 1972. He was the last living eyewitness to the assassination of Governor Huey Long in the Louisiana State Capitol on September 10, 1935. Bailes was working his way through law school as an elevator operator at the capitol when the "Kingfish" was gunned down, officially by the Baton Rouge physician Carl Weiss.

Early life and education

Born in Longview in Gregg County in east Texas, to Larry Thaddeus Bailes and the former Ethel Ballard, Bailes graduated from Natchitoches High School (now Natchitoches Central High School) and Louisiana Normal College (now Northwestern State University), both in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and the LSU School of Law in Baton Rouge.

Military service

Julian Bailes served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army during World War II and was part of the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, in which he was wounded and given two Purple Heart awards.

Judicial career

Julian Bailes was elected as city judge of Natchitoches in 1948 and reelected in 1954. After six years on the district court, Bailes was elected as a judge for the 10th Judicial Circuit in 1960, on which he served until his retirement in 1972. He was one of the longest-serving judges in the State of Louisiana; after retirement from the district court, he continued to serve temporarily as needed on higher courts throughout the state. In 1976, he was the interim judge of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, a position he vacated when the Republican Douglas Gonzales was elected to the court.

Bailes was preceded in death by his second wife, the former Nell Sandefur. He had five surviving children, Georgia Ann Bailes Scott and husband, Homer, of Natchitoches; Juliana Bailes Lipe and husband, Jim, of Shreveport; Sara Nell Bailes Williams and husband John Payne Williams, Sr., of Natchitoches; Dr. Julian Edwin Bailes, Jr., and wife, Colleen, of Morgantown, West Virginia, and Emily Bailes Haines and husband, Paul, of Shreveport.

Bailes died of a stroke in Shreveport at the age of ninety-five and is interred at the American Cemetery in Natchitoches.