Retired 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Harmon Drew has died

MINDEN, La. – Northwest Louisiana lost another member of its judiciary this weekend. Retired 2^nd Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Harmon Drew has died. He was 77. Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker, who was notified of Drew’s death Sunday morning, called the jurist a good man who loved his family, community and law enforcement. He will “truly be missed,” Parker said. Drew’s death comes less than a week after the death of 26^th Judicial District Judge Lane Pittard, 66. Drew was a Minden High School graduate. He earned his law degree from Louisiana State University Law School. He started in private practice and for several years dually served as first assistant district attorney in the Bossier-Webster judicial district. Drew became the fifth generation in his family to hold a judge’s title when he first became judge in Minden City Court. He progressed to the 26^th Judicial District Court judgeship before being elected in 1998 to the 2^nd Circuit Court of Appeal, a position he held until his retirement in 2017. Drew was well-known in law enforcement circles for his “True Blue Drew Book.” Every year, he and his wife Jean Talley Drew, would make the rounds of law enforcement agencies to teach various aspects of criminal law and explain amendments enacted annually by the Legislature. He continued to do that up until recently, even after retirement. People outside the court system and law enforcement often got another glimpse of Drew, as he played keyboard for his popular band, the Harmon Drew Super Group. They were most known for playing the dancing music of the 1960s and 1970s. The band was inducted in 2002 into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Drew and his wife, who is also an attorney, live in Minden, where both were considered “pillars of the community,” Parker said.