A retired judge who served in the 25th Circuit has passed away.
Douglas E. Long Jr., a Pulaski County native, was 89 when he died Thursday.
Before becoming a judge, Long was a special agent with the FBI and was part of President John F. Kennedy’s detail during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1969, Long returned home to practice law in Phelps and Pulaski counties. In 1975, during the last seven days of the Vietnam War, Long traveled as a congressional emissary to evacuate small children of U.S. servicemen. Long and the children escaped hours before Saigon fell to the communists.
Long retired in November 2004 from the circuit that includes Texas, Pulaski, Maries and Phelps counties. He began serving on the bench in January 1983. After retirement, he took “senior judge status” and continued to preside over high-profile cases.
A private family burial is in the Waynesville Memorial Park Cemetery under direction of Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville/St. Robert.
Long’s wife, Ruth, and four children survive.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Waynesville R-VI School District Foundation and may be left at Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville/St. Robert.
Online condolences can be left at www.memorialchapelsandcrematory.com.