Biography
Culpepper was one of seven children of Edward Chester Culpepper (1912-2005), a farmer, [3] and the former Myrtle Perry (1915-2010), who are interred at Gayla Traina Memorial Cemetery in Jonesboro. [4] In 1959, Culpepper graduated as the valedictorian of Jonesboro-Hodge High School. He studied thereafter in Baton Rouge at Louisiana State University and the Louisiana State University Law Center, from which he graduated in January 1966. After law school, he was the clerk for Judge Albert Tate, Jr., then presiding over the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit, based in Lake Charles. Thereafter, he entered the military police section of the United States Army as a first lieutenant. He was discharged in 1968 as a captain. [2] He remained in the Army Reserve until 1971. [1]
Valedictorian is an academic title of success used in the United States, Canada, Central America, Singapore, and the Philippines for the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. The chosen valedictorian is often the student with the highest ranking among their graduating class. The term is an Anglicised derivation of the Latin vale dicere, historically rooted in the valedictorian's traditional role as the final speaker at the graduation ceremony before the students receive their diplomas. The valedictory address generally is considered a final farewell to classmates, before they disperse to pursue their individual paths after graduating.
Jonesboro-Hodge High School is a high school located in North Central Louisiana, United States. It is located in Jonesboro in Jackson Parish, Louisiana. The school mascot is the Tiger, named after LSU. The colors are scarlet and royal blue. The school, a part of the Jackson Parish School Board, serves the Town of Jonesboro and the Village of Hodge.
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana and its second-largest city. Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish.
In 1968, Culpepper began practicing law in the state and federal courts from his office in Jonesboro, which he maintained until his death in West Monroe of a sudden illness at the age of seventy-four. Under three district attorneys, he was an assistant DA for Jackson, Bienville, and Claiborne parishes. He was also an assistant state attorney general. He was active in various bar associations and legal organizations, including Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Alpha Delta fraternities, the American Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Judicature Society. [2]
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is situated on the Ouachita River, across from the neighboring city of Monroe. The two cities are often referred to as the Twin Cities of northeast Louisiana. Its population was 13,065 at the 2010 census and it is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area. The mayor is Staci Albritton Mitchell.
In the United States, a district attorney (DA) is the chief prosecutor for a local government area, typically a county. The exact name of the office varies by state.
Bienville Parish is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,353. The parish seat is Arcadia.
Culpepper was active in Lions and Kiwanis International, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Cancer Society, the American Legion, and the LSU Alumni Association. He was a board member of the Jimmie Davis Tabernacle Foundation, which honors the former governor of Louisiana Jimmie Davis, a native of Jackson Parish and a nationally-known singer. Culpepper was one of the first inductees into the Louisiana 4-H Hall of Fame. Culpepper was the president of the Jackson Parish Sports Hall of Fame. A die-hard LSU Tigers supporter, he was an original member of the LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation. [2]
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), more commonly referred to as Farm Bureau (FB), is an independent, non-governmental, voluntary organization governed by and representing farm and ranch families united for the purpose of analyzing their problems and formulating action to achieve educational improvement, economic opportunity and social advancement and, thereby, to promote the national well-being. Farm Bureau is local, county, state, national and international in its scope and influence and is non-partisan, non-sectarian and non-secret in character. Farm Bureau is the voice of agricultural producers at all levels. AFBF is headquartered in Washington, D.C. There are 50 state affiliates and one in Puerto Rico.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into eleven geographical divisions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than 900 offices throughout the United States. Its home office is located in the American Cancer Society Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The ACS publishes the journals Cancer, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and Cancer Cytopathology.
The American Legion is a U.S. war veterans organization headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of local posts. The legislative body of The American Legion is a national convention, held annually. The organization was founded on March 15, 1919, at the American Club near Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, by members of the American Expeditionary Forces, and it was chartered on September 16, 1919, by the U.S. Congress.
He was an aide-de-camp on the governor's staff for both John McKeithen and Edwin Edwards. Culpepper was the longest serving member of the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee, on which his tenure extended from 1968 until his death. [2] He was also the long-term chairman of the Jackson Parish Democratic Executive Committee, a post that he assumed in 1976. [1] He was a delegate to the 1976 Democratic National Convention, which met in New York City to nominate the successful Carter-Mondale ticket. He also served on committees for Republican and Democratic candidates and on advisory committees for presidents of both parties. He was an active Southern Baptist, a deacon and Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church of Jonesboro. [2]
John Julian McKeithen was an American lawyer, politician, and the 49th governor of Louisiana, serving from 1964 to 1972. A Democrat and attorney from the rural town of Columbia, he first served in other state offices. In 1967 he gained passage after his first term of a constitutional amendment to allow governors to serve two successive terms. He was the first governor of his state in the twentieth century to be elected and serve two consecutive terms. He strongly advocated the construction of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
Edwin Washington Edwards is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 7th congressional district from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th Governor of Louisiana for four terms, twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive. He served a total of 16 years in office, the sixth-longest serving gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days.
The Louisiana Democratic Party is the affiliate of the national Democratic Party of the United States in the state of Louisiana.
Jonesboro Mayor James E. Bradford described Culpepper as "a meticulous and dedicated attorney, father, friend and servant. Bobby was the soldier who fought for those who needed him, and he desired to see the very best for our town. If there were ever a person who loved Jonesboro, it was Bobby Culpepper. He was witty, trustworthy, hardworking, and wise. It was an honor to have considered him a friend. ..." [2]
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town.
Culpepper and his wife, the former Elizabeth Estelle "Beth" Walker, whom he wed in 1964, [1] have a daughter, Teresa Loyce Culpepper Carroll, and her husband Clay, of Jonesboro; and a son, William Todd Culpepper and his wife Laura, of Quitman, also in Jackson Parish. A second son, Nathan Bradley Culpepper, is deceased. Both Culpepper children are involved in the legal system. He had five grandchildren [2] and six siblings. [3] He is interred at Transport Cemetery in Dodson in Winn Parish. [2]
Culpepper in 2012 published Objection, Your Honor: The Story of a Country Lawyer. [5]
