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October 3, 2008

Former county judge Reagan dies at 93

By Angela Weatherford Staff Writer

Winston Reagan, who served two decades as Henderson County’s county judge, died Friday in Chandler. He was 93.

Services for Reagan are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church in Chandler with Dr. Stanley Reagan Copeland and Dr. Russ Munch officiating. Visitation will be Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Burks Walker Tippet Funeral Home in Tyler.

Reagan took the oath of office for county judge on Jan. 1, 1970, and he stayed in the position until 1990. Before his death, he had offered 50 years of his life to public service.

“Today, the people of our county lost one of its greatest leaders ...,” Henderson County Judge David Holstein said. “Judge Reagan built a legacy for future generations while in office. He had many accomplishments and will be remembered as an outstanding county judge.”

Former 173rd District Court Judge Jack Holland, who also served as county attorney, remembered Reagan as being a “people judge.”

“He always wanted to be there for the people and the employees,” Holland said. “He was a really great guy and great judge.”

Holland’s feelings were echoed by Henderson County Tax Assessor/Collector Milburn Chaney.

“It is a great loss to Henderson County,” Chaney said. “Even if he had to raise county taxes a half cent to get a raise for the employees he would. He would go to bat for the employees.”

Reagan is also known for his work to renovate the Henderson County Courthouse.

“He always made sure the courthouse was neat and clean,” Holland said.

Reagan also looked out for the inhabitants on the courthouse lawn. Both Holland and Chaney remember chickens living on the courthouse lawn for a time.

“People still ask me about the chickens today,” Chaney said.

It is unclear if the chickens were placed on the lawn by Reagan, but one thing is certain — he didn’t want anything to happen to them.

A former county clerk overheard Reagan on the phone telling someone, “You can’t have those chickens, those chickens belong to the county.”

Reagan was instrumental in implementing the first Henderson County Appraisal Office, helped to establish the Henderson County Hospital District and construction of East Texas Medical Center Athens, the Henderson County Senior Citizens Center and the Henderson County Justice Center. He was awarded the “Road Hand Award” by the Texas Department of Transportation for his leadership in developing state and federal highways of Henderson County, and the initial phases of Loop 7.

“We had a unique common bond,” Holstein said of Reagan. “I appreciate everything he’s done, because I understand the work that went behind it.”

After his stint as county judge, Reagan returned to public service from 1992 to 1997 as mayor of the City of Chandler, where he had previously been only third mayor in the town’s history.

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