J.Q. Warnick, Jr., a former federal and county court at law judge in Lubbock who also served in numerous leadership capacities, is being remembered for his service to the city and legal community after he died May 26.

He was 92.

The Tahoka native was raised in Lubbock, graduating from Lubbock High in 1948 before serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve and later the U.S. Air Force from 1948 to 1955 before pursuing a legal career that would include time in private practice, as an assistant county attorney and as a judge at the local and federal level, according to his obituary.

After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, he served as an assistant county attorney in Lubbock County and also worked in private practice. He was elected to serve as Judge of the County Court at Law No. 2 in Lubbock County in 1976, serving in that role until 1984, when he was appointed and sworn in as the U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. In that judicial position he presided over sessions of the U.S. District Court in Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, San Angelo, and Dallas. He presided at several Naturalization Ceremonies and sworn in approximately 3,000 new U.S. citizens. He served in that federal judicial position until his retirement at the end of 1998.

Texas Tech Chancellor Emeritus Kent Hance, himself an attorney who previously served as a Texas state senator and U.S. Congressman from the Lubbock region, described Warnick as a great friend and dedicated public servant.

“He was an excellent judge who was always well informed and fair,” Hance wrote in a statement on social media. “Our sympathies go to Loretta his wife of 61 years and their outstanding family.”

That aspiration for fairness was exemplified in 2011, when Warnick was appointed by the Lubbock City Council to chair a committee tasked with helping draw political boundaries in the city following the 2010 Census, according to an Avalanche-Journal article at the time. The article noted that the committee pledged not to hold closed meetings and could meet on weekends to better draw public comment.

“It’s not only important to do your absolutely dead-level best to be fair, it’s also important to give the appearance of being fair,” Warnick said at the time.

Kevin Glasheen, an attorney and senior partner with the Glasheen, Valles & Inderman lawfirm, shared a statement reflecting on Warnick’s contributions to both the legal community and those who knew him.

“JQ was a great man. He was smart, classy, kind, humble, generous and thoughtful. A true gentleman,” he wrote. “He was dedicated to always doing the right thing. He always tried to make a positive contribution to the community – and he succeeded. He made the world a better place place. I’m proud to have practiced law with him – and before him as a judge.”

Warnick was active in law organizations, founded the Lubbock County Young Lawyers Association, and was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer in 1969, according to his obituary. He served as President of the Lubbock County Bar Association and received its’ Justice James G. Denton Distinguished Senior Lawyer Award.

He served on several official boards and committees in Lubbock County, the City of Lubbock, and the State of Texas. He served on several boards of local, area, and state non-profit and charitable organizations, and was a member of the Lubbock Lions Club for 43 years. After retirement he taught law classes at the Texas Tech School of Law, the Texas Tech College of Media and Communications, the Texas Tech Graduate School, the Texas Tech College of Engineering, Wayland Baptist University, the City of Lubbock Police Academy, and the Lubbock Sheriff’s office.

Plans for funeral and memorial services are still pending, according to Resthaven Funeral Home.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Former Lubbock, federal Judge Warnick remembered for fairness, service