Date Died: July 9, 1966

Place Buried: Oaklawn Cemetery in Marion, NC

John Wallace Winborne was born on July 12, 1884, in Chowan County, NC, the son of Dr. Robert Henry Winborne and Annie Felicia (Parker) Winborne. He received his elementary education from his older sister, Martha Warren, who conducted a school for her younger brothers and sister and the children of tenants. From 1900 to 1902, he attended the Horner Military School in Oxford, NC, and in 1906 received an A.B. degree from the University of North Carolina. Following graduation in 1906, he taught and coached at the Bingham School in Asheville, NC while studying law.

In 1907, John Wallace Winborne launched his own private law practice in Marion, NC, the county seat of McDowell County.

On March 30, 1910, John Wallace Winborne married Charlie May Blanton of Marion; they had two children.

From 1913 to 1921, John Wallace Winborne served on the Board of Alderman for the town of Marion, NC.

During World War I, John Wallace Winborne served as a member of the local Selective Service Board as well as Chairman of the local committee of the American Red Cross and Chairman of the Council of Defense in McDowell County. He was also Chairman of the McDowell County Food Administration and a 1st Lieutenant in the Marion Company of the NC Reserve Militia, the NC National Guard having been called into service in the U.S. Army.

From 1916 to 1937, John Wallace Winborne was a member of the state Democratic Executive Committee, of which he served as Chairman from 1932 to 1937. He also sat on the local Government Commission from 1931 to 1933.

From 1918 to 1937, John Wallace Winborne was Attorney for McDowell County and Attorney for the town of Marion. He was also a member of the North Carolina and American Bar associations and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

For many years, John Wallace Winborne was a director of Clinchfield Manufacturing Company and served as Chairman of its Board of Directors for several years prior to the time this large textile plant was merged with Burlington Industries, Inc. He was also one of the organizers of the Marion Manufacturing Company and a founder of the Marion Lake Club (afterwards the Country Club of Marion). A longtime Director of the State Capital Life Insurance Company, he also was a Director of and attorney for the First National Bank of Marion from 1929 until his appointment to the NC Supreme Court. He was an honorary member of the North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati, and in 1946, the University of North Carolina awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree.

As typical of the man and his keen interest in the care and welfare of the children who were supported and educated at the Masonic Orphanage at Oxford, he served as a member of that institution's board of directors for thirty-two years (April 1930–April 1962).

On July 1, 1937, Governor Clyde Roark Hoey appointed John Wallace Winborne as an Associate Justice on the NC Supreme Court, one of two new Justices authorized by a 1936 Constitution amendment. He was elected in his own right in 1938, and re-elected in 1946 and 1954; he remained an Associate Justice until 1956.

In the Fall of 1956, Governor Luther Hartwell Hodges appointed John Wallace Winborne as Chief Justice on the NC Supreme Court, replacing Chief Justice Maurice Victor Barnhill, who had resigned on August 21, 1956. He was elected in his own right in November of that same year for an eight-year term. He continued as Chief Justice on the NC Supreme Court until he retired on March 8, 1962.

On July 9, 1966, John Wallace Winborne died, and he was buried in the Oaklawn Cemetery in Marion, NC.

Born in Chowan County, North Carolina, Winborne graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, moved to Marion, North Carolina around 1910, and joined the law firm of J. Will Pless. He became active in politics, serving as chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party at one time.

Winborne was also a Mason and rose to become Grand Master of the state Masonic Lodge, before his appointment to the state's highest court as an Associate Justice in 1937. Gov. Luther Hodges appointed Winborne Chief Justice in 1956 after Chief Justice Maurice V. Barnhill retired.

Teacher - Bingham Military School, Asheville, NC 1906-1907.

Admitted to practice law in 1906. Practiced law after 1907 in Marion, NC - member of the lawfirm Pless and Winborne 1907-1919, Pless, Winborne and Pless 1919-1926, Pless, Winborne, Pless and Proctor 1926-1927, Winborne and Proctor 1928-1937.

Member of Board of Alderman 1913-1921.

Attorney - Marion and McDowell County 1918-1937

Member local Selective Service Board during World War I.

Chairman Democratic Executive Committee of McDowell County 1910-1912; Member State Democratic Executive Committee 1916-1937; Chairman State Democratic Executive Committee 1932-1937.

Member Local Government Commission of North Carolina 1931-1933.

Chairman NC Judicial Council 1954.

Delta Kappa Epsilon; Mason; Grand Master of Masons of North Carolina 1931.

Executive Club of Raleigh

Member North Carolina Bar Association and American Bar Association; Fellow, American Bar Association.

Member Judiciary Society; Member Executive Council of Conference of Chief Justices 1959-.

Honorary member of the North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati.

Honorary member of Phi Delta Phi.

Marion Kiwanis Club (President 1923).

Appointed by Governor Clyde R. Hoey as Associate Justice Supreme Court of North Carolina on July 1, 1937, elected to an eight-year term in November of 1938, re-elected twice. Appointed as Chief Justice by Governor Luther H. Hodges on August 21, 1956, elected in November of 1956, re-elected in November 1958.

Married twice: 1) Charlie May Blanton on March 30, 1910. She died on November 4, 1940. Children - Charlotte Blanton, now Mrs. Charles M. Shaffer of Chapel Hill, NC; John Wallace, Jr. of Atlanta, GA. 2) Mrs. Lalage Oates Rorison on June 14, 1947.

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