2016 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 12
BY SENATORS PEACOCK, ALARIO, ALLAIN, APPEL, BARROW, BISHOP,
BOUDREAUX, BROWN, CARTER, CHABERT, CLAITOR,
COLOMB, CORTEZ, DONAHUE, ERDEY, FANNIN, GATTI,
HEWITT, JOHNS, LAFLEUR, LAMBERT, LONG, LUNEAU,
MARTINY, MILKOVICH, MILLS, MIZELL, MORRELL, MORRISH,
PERRY, PETERSON, RISER, GARY SMITH, JOHN SMITH,
TARVER, THOMPSON, WALSWORTH, WARD AND WHITE
A RESOLUTION
To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the
death of United States District Court Judge Thomas Eaton Stagg Jr.
WHEREAS, Judge Tom Stagg was born on January 19, 1923, to Thomas E. Stagg
Sr. and the former Beulah Meyer, and passed away in Shreveport on June 23, 2015, at the
age of ninety-two; and
WHEREAS, Judge Stagg graduated from C. E. Byrd High School in 1939, attended
Marion Military Institute in Alabama, and graduated from Louisiana State University with
a bachelor of art's degree in 1943; and
WHEREAS, he served in the United States Infantry during World War II in both
France and Germany during which time he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the
Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster; and
WHEREAS, Judge Stagg was saved from death when a German bullet struck the
New Testament he carried in his pocket, and he shared that story and showed the
bullet-scarred holy book to colleagues and friends for decades; and
WHEREAS, he briefly attended Cambridge University Law School in England and
LSU Law School, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1949; and
WHEREAS, Judge Stagg began his legal career at the firm of Hargrove, Guyton, Van
Hook and Hargrove, was a solo practitioner from 1953 to 1958, and thereafter became the
senior partner with Stagg, Cady, Johnson and Haygood and the successor firm of Stagg,
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Cady and Beard; and
WHEREAS, while maintaining a thriving legal practice, he was also active in
business and civic affairs, both locally and nationally, being very involved in the Jaycees,
the Saint John's Parents Club, the Shreveport Airport Authority, and the annual Red Mass
in the Shreveport-Bossier community; and
WHEREAS, he was awarded the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center's Distinguished
Alumnus award and named to the Byrd High Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, he was an active Republican at every level from the precinct on up,
serving as a five-time delegate to Republican National Conventions from 1956 to 1972 and
as national committeeman as well as chairman on several of the committees; and
WHEREAS, he was an elected delegate to the 1974 Louisiana Constitutional
Convention; and
WHEREAS, Judge Stagg was appointed to the United States District Court for the
Western District of Louisiana in 1974, served as chief judge from 1984 to 1991, and
assumed senior status in 1992; and
WHEREAS, he continued as an active jurist for the remainder of his life and his
personal feeling was that "this was the best job a guy could have"; and
WHEREAS, he was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Betty Stagg of
Dallas, Texas; and is survived by his wife of sixty-nine years, Margaret O'Brien Stagg, and
daughters, Julie Harrington and husband, Martin, of Denver, Colorado, and Margaret Sour
of Shreveport; and
WHEREAS, "Pop Pop" is also survived by grandchildren, Sarah and Chris Garrett
of Shreveport, Annie and Brad Weinig of Denver, Lauren and Tom Harrington of Palo Alto,
California, and great-grandchildren Charlie Garrett, Maggie Garrett, and Pete Weinig; and
WHEREAS, Judge Stagg, known for his bow ties, enjoyed traveling, morning jaunts
with his walking group, Monday night badminton games, and photography, and he called
himself a "belly botanist" because he liked to get up close and personal with every
wildflower he hoped to capture; and
WHEREAS, he has been described as prepared, detail-oriented, spirited, patriotic,
full of wisdom and wit, and a great role model.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby extend condolences to the family of United States District Court Judge Thomas
Eaton Stagg Jr.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to his
wife, Margaret O'Brien Stagg.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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