RALEIGH – Campbell Law School’s third dean and former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Willis P. Whichard died Nov. 18, 2025, in Chapel Hill. He was 85.
Whichard served as dean of the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University for seven years, from 1999 to 2006, before returning to private practice.
As dean, Whichard gave Clinical Professor Jon Powell ‘98 the green light to start the Juvenile Justice Project in 2003 with a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission. It began as a clinical mediation program and served Harnett, Lee and Johnston counties. Juvenile criminal cases from the local district were referred by the district attorney’s office, Department of Juvenile Justice or local schools. The most typical crimes mediated through the program were assault and property crimes. In 2015, the program was renamed the Restorative Justice Clinic making it the law school’s longest running pro bono clinic.
“Dean Whichard saw things that others could not see and he led with integrity to see those visions through to reality,” Powell said. “I am fortunate that he saw something in me and we are fortunate as a law school and a state to have had Willis Whichard as a huge part of our community.”
Whichard holds the distinction of being the only person in the state to serve in both the North Carolina General Assembly House of Representatives (1970-1974) and the Senate (1974-1980) as well as on both appellate courts, the Court of Appeals (appointed 1980-86) and the Supreme Court of North Carolina (elected 1986-1998).
While on the appeals court, Whichard chaired the North Carolina Citizens Commission on Alternatives to Incarceration. It pushed for setting limits on jail populations and adding pretrial release programs, a recent Duke Law Journal reported.
As a lawmaker, Whichard was instrumental in passing the state’s first Coastal Area Management Act, protecting the coast from more aggressive development seen in other states, an article in the News and Observer states. “As a justice, Whichard penned the decision allowing local governments to provide economic incentives to lure businesses and create jobs.”
In 1975, he was named Outstanding Legislator by the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. In 1983, he was named Outstanding Appellate Judge by the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers. While on our appellate courts, Justice Whichard also found time to obtain his LL.M. and SJ.D. degrees from the University of Virginia, authoring in the process the biography of Justice James Iredell, North Carolina’s most notable member of the United States Supreme Court.
“He’s one of the best, most dedicated public servants of his generation,” said former House Speaker Joe Hackney, a Chapel Hill Democrat, who was elected to the legislature in 1980 as Whichard was leaving, said the Durham Democrat had a reputation for working with other lawmakers and avoiding confrontation.
He was elected to the N.C. House in 1970, representing Durham County, and then to the N.C. Senate in 1974, representing Durham, Granville and Person counties.
Whichard was born in Durham on May 24, 1940, to a couple who were school teachers. He attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the honorary society Phi Beta Kappa, and earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from the university in 1962 and 1965, respectively. Whichard went into private practice before going into politics — working as a public administrator for estates and as Durham County’s public guardian, responsible for making decisions on the affairs of those who could not due to incapacity, the N&O wrote.
Upon Whichard’s retirement from the law school, I. Beverly Lake, Jr. Chief Justice (retired) Supreme Court of North Carolina, wrote in a 2006 Campbell Law Review article, “Dean Whichard has followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, Dean Leary Davis and Dean Pat Hetrick, in giving exceptional representation and service to the Law School and to the University. He has provided the needed leadership within the faculty and to the students, while at the same time maintaining and expanding the contacts and outreach required by a vital and growing institution.
“As but one example, Dean Whichard has rendered most valuable advice and service as a member of the Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, thereby enhancing professionalism within the legal community. Throughout, he has been a students’ Dean and accessible to all, as evidenced by the respect and loyalty of all within the Law School and beyond. Dean Whichard has substantially advanced the interests and objectives of the Law School in all areas, consistent with its mission statement and goals as established by its founder, Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins. In sum, the State of North Carolina has benefited greatly from the career of Willis Whichard.”
After retiring from the law school, Whichard remained active in public affairs, serving on boards such as the Public School Forum of North Carolina and the Durham County Library Foundation, the N&O wrote. He sponsored professional development scholarships in his mother’s name for a teacher in Clay County, where his mother hailed from, and Durham County, where she taught. “On our board, he brought wisdom, steady leadership and a genuine dedication to civic purpose.,” a forum news release said. “His thoughtful counsel and principled voice strengthened our mission to provide a high-quality public education for every child in North Carolina.”
Mike Woodard, who represented Durham as a state senator from 2013 to 2025, called Whichard a mentor who helped him understand how to get things done. “He, at his heart I think, was a teacher, and he always liked sharing that lesson that he had learned with you,” Woodard said.
In the 2003 profile, Whichard said his biggest accomplishment was his family: “It is both the politically correct answer and the truthful answer.”
Whichard is preceded in death by his parents, Willis G. and Beulah (Padgett) Whichard. Surviving are Leona (Paschal), his wife of 64 years; a brother, Obie; daughters Jennifer Ritz and Ida Silkenat; and six grandchildren. Clements Funeral & Cremation Services of Durham is handling the arrangements.
There will be a public memorial service in January, according to his family. Learn more at this link.
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