Judge has put family first

He will be fondly remembered by those who work with him.

"We're all so close in this office," said Beth Moore, chief clerk who has worked in Magistrate's Court for a decade. "It's kind of like being with your grandpa every day. He has taught me so much."

Terry Chandler of Pine Mountain, who worked as a secretary in Askew's law office in Pine Mountain about 14 years, said she couldn't ask for "a better person to work for. He is a very distinct family man. His family comes first. He allowed employees to have that attitude, too."

When he was younger, she said, "He used to brag he could make it from Pine Mountain to Hamilton in eight minutes flat. He'd go down that mountain in neutral. We used to cut up that none of us wanted to ride with him. We used to time him, too. Several times he made it in eight minutes."

Asked whether he still cruises down Pine Mountain toward Hamilton driving in neutral, Askew replied, "It's illegal." He grinned as he admitted doing it at one time.

Found his place

While Askew was always very helpful, Chandler remembers that when he got ill about something, "He'd walk around the office and say 'shoot a monkey.' I knew whatever he was working on had gotten aggravating to him."

Born in LaGrange, he was raised and still lives in Pine Mountain. The town was called Chipley in his youth. When he attended Mercer University, Askew said he had no idea what he would pursue as a career. His father, Roy Askew, was in the insurance and banking business.

"When I went to Mercer, I was 16," he said. "I saw all those law students and they were just gods. I never even dreamed I could go to law school."

At Mercer he first earned a B.A. in economics with minors in psychology, sociology and education. During his last quarter of liberal arts instruction, he took a course in business law and enjoyed it. He served in the U.S. Army from October 1942 until February 1946, spending most of that time at Camp Blanding in Florida instead of being sent overseas during World War II.

"They stamped me as limited service because of my eyesight," he said. "I did payroll work. I had friends who worked at the table across from me. They would go overseas and get captured and be sent back and would sit across the table from me again.

"I guess the Lord saved my life. Looking back on it, it looks like his hand was involved in every step along the way. I can see all these things that happened to me were at his command."

Green lawyer

After the service, he entered Mercer's Walter F. George School of Law and received his law degree in January 1950. He worked briefly in his father's insurance business, then opened a law practice in February 1950. He would take any case that came along, from those assigned by court to people who came to him for help.

Becoming a lawyer, he said, was a bigger challenge than being a judge.

"I broke into law by myself and didn't have a partner," said Askew. "As a lawyer, you do the best you can for your client. You don't worry about the other side. As a judge, you listen to both sides and make a decision which is the correct side.

"I was mighty green coming out of Mercer law school. I had learned a lot of law book law. But as far as practical application, I had to go somewhere else to learn that. That was here in the courtroom."

Two judges greatly influenced his practice of law -- Superior Court Judge T. Hicks Fort, who was known as "Squire" Fort, and Harris County Ordinary J. B. Peavy, who let Askew work part-time in his office when he returned to Chipley to establish a law career. An ordinary court judge is the same as what is now called a probate judge. He also learned a lot from two lawyers -- Forrest Champion and J. Walter Owens, both of Columbus.

Appreciates life

Two cases he handled stick out in his memory. "One of my very first cases was an auto accident case in which I represented the defendant and won the case," he said. "It was a drawn-out affair. It was tried in Harris County and ended in a mistrial. It came up for trial again. The plaintiff won a change of venue and it was moved to Columbus where I won the case. That was probably my first big case."

He also remembers a federal lawsuit against Harris County challenging the racial composition of Harris County juries.

"We went back and reconstituted the jury boxes in Harris County and reported it to the federal court," he said. "The court then said the case is moot. That was in 1973 or 1974."

Askew served as city attorney for Chipley/Pine Mountain for 20 years and as attorney for Harris County from 1973-90. But the highlight of his career, he said, has been serving as chief magistrate. "You are dealing with peoples' money. People come to this court because of disagreements. It's a serious matter to me."

"The county is not going to be the same without Mr. Ken around the courthouse. That's for sure," said Harris County Manager Carol Silva. "I truly hate to see him go. He's so civic-minded. He gets involved in issues that are important to him."

He will hand over his post to Jennifer Webb, who worked in District Attorney Gray Conger's office, in January.

At nearly 81, he still teaches a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church of Pine Mountain.

"My wife and children would be my success stories," he said. He plans to spend quality time with his wife, three children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

"I appreciate the fact I have lived this long," he said. "I have enjoyed living."