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Born on January 30, 1946 in Clarkson, Kentucky, Ronald Edward Meredith excelled as a youth in both sports and academics. He was an All Conference and All District basketball player at Elizabethtown High School, where he received the Andrew Clay Johnson, Jr. Memorial Award given to the most outstanding senior in scholarship, athletics, and attitude. He graduated in 1964.
At Georgetown College [Georgetown, Kentucky], Meredith was President of the Student Government, Men's Honor Society, Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, and the Young Republicans Club. In 1967, after being named Most Outstanding Man and Most Likely to Succeed, he was nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship and received his baccalaureate degree magna cum laude.
While attending George Washington University National Law Center, Meredith worked on Capitol Hill for Senator John Sherman Cooper (1967-1971). After graduating from law school in 1971, he served as Minority Counsel to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on National Penitentiaries for a year and then became a Legislative Assistant to Senator Marlow W. Cook. He also served as Research Director of Senator Cook's 1974 re-election campaign.
In 1975, Meredith left Washington to establish the Elizabethtown law firm of Kelly & Meredith. While practicing law, he served as the District Chairman of the Republican Party for the 2nd Congressional District (1976-1980) and as Kentucky State Republican Party Chairman in 1979, while directing Louie Nunn's campaign for governor of Kentucky.
In 1981, Meredith was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. On April 4, 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed Meredith to the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. After Meredith was sworn in by U.S. District Judge Charles M. Allen, he became one of the country's youngest federal judges. After six years on the district bench, he became Chief Judge on November 29, 1991 and served in that position until his death on December 1, 1994.
Judge Meredith received the 1986 Alumni Achievement Award from Georgetown College and was included in Who's Who in America; Who's Who in Kentucky; and Who's Who in American Law. He was selected as one of the Outstanding Young Men of America by the U. S. Jaycees in 1977.Judge Meredith's civic activities include: Deacon, Sunday School teacher, and former Chairman of Deacons at the Severns Valley Baptist Church; member of the Board of Trustees of Georgetown College; and member of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky; former member and Director of Elizabethtown Rotary Club; former member of Louisville Rotary Club; and former member of the Board of Directors of Hardin County Red Cross.
Judge Meredith was married to the former Joanne Marie Berry and had four children, Kelly Marie, Jaime Kristin, Ronee Virginia, and Mark Edward. |
