Administrative Office of Courts
Supreme Court administrator Stephen J. Kirchmayr died Oct. 4 StephenJ.Kirchmayr,63, of Jackson, counseland court administrator for the Mississippi Supreme Court and the state court system, died Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005, at his home in Jackson. Visitation is at 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at St. James Episcopal Church, 3921 Oak Ridge Drive in Jackson. Services are at 3 p.m. Thursday at the church. The burial will be at Wright and Ferguson’s Parkway Memorial Cemetery in Ridgeland. Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Smith Jr. ordered the closing of the offices of the Supreme Court, Court ofAppeals, Administrative Office of Courts, Board of Bar Admission and the Board of Continuing Legal Education from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, to honor Mr. Kirchmayr’s memory and to pay respect to his family. Chief Justice Smith said, “I’ve lost a dear colleague, a trusted and valued employee and a long, long-time friend in Steve Kirchmayr. Steve and I go back to our college days at Hinds, USM and law school, and we took and passed the bar together. This will be some big shoes for the court to fill. We will miss our friend dearly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Kathy and the children.” Mr. Kirchmayr is preceded in death by his parents, Stephen and Earline Kirchmayr. Survivors include:wife, Kathy Crowder Kirchmayr of Jackson; son Stephen Kirchmayr of Jackson; daughter Deidra Kirchmayr O’Connor and her husband, the Reverend Edward F. O’Connor of Gulfport; and three grandchildren. Mr. Kirchmayr, an attorney, worked in public service for 28 years inthe office ofthe state Attorney General, at the State College Board and at the Mississippi Supreme Court. He served under four state attorneys general and five chief justices of the Mississippi Supreme Court. For the past 12 years, Mr. Kirchmayr served as counseland court administrator to the Mississippi Supreme Court. He oversaw financial operations, personnel, planning and all other non-judicial functions of the Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. As Supreme Court administrator, he oversaw implementation of a new court system for the state after the Legislature created the 10-member Court of Appeals in 1994. He oversaw technological improvements for the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the state trial courts. He supervised programs which made the decisions, docket and oral arguments of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals available to the public via the Internet. He oversaw resource improvements for trial courts. From 1992-1993, Mr. Kirchmayr served as Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Higher Education. He joined the office of then-Attorney General A.F. Summer as an assistant state attorney general in 1977, providing legal advice and representation to state and local government officials and state agencies. In 1985, he became Deputy Attorney General, second-in-command under then-Attorney General Edwin L. Pittman, a position he held until 1992. Mr. Kirchmayr was born Sept. 6, 1942, in Vicksburg. He graduated from St. Aloysius High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1964. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the Mississippi College School of Law in 1972. He worked in private law practice in Jackson for five years before joining the office of the Attorney General. He was a member of the Mississippi Bar, the Hinds County Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association and the MississippiCourt Administrators’ Association. He was a fellowof the Mississippi Bar Foundation and a former member of the Charles Clark Chapter of American Inns of Court. He served as secretary of the Conference of Mississippi Judges. From 1991 to1993, he served as a member ofthe Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. He was a former chairman of the Governmental Law Section of the Mississippi Bar. He was a member of St. James Episcopal Church. Mr. Kirchmayr was a private pilot who enjoyed going to the circus and playing practical jokes. Memorials may be made to St. James Episcopal Church, 3921 Oak Ridge Drive, Jackson, MS 39216, or Hospice Ministries, 450 Towne Center, Ridgeland, MS 39157. #### |
