Willis Padgett Whichard May 24, 1940 – November 18, 2025 Willis Padgett Whichard, 85, known to longtime friends and family as “Bill,” died on November 18, 2025, in Chapel Hill, after a period of declining health from pulmonary fibrosis.
A lifelong North Carolinian, he was born on May 24, 1940, in Durham to educators Willis G. and Beulah Padgett Whichard who gave him roots across the state and instilled a deep love of learning. He was educated in the Durham City Schools and received A.B. in history (1962) and J.D. (1965) degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill- becoming a lifelong devoted Tar Heel basketball fan. He later earned LL.M (1984) and S.J.D. (1994) degrees from the University of Virginia. After law school, he clerked for Justice (later Chief Justice) William H. Bobbitt of the Supreme Court of North Carolina (1965-66). From 1966-72 Whichard was an enlisted member of the North Carolina Army National Guard. He practiced law with the Durham firm of Powe, Porter, Alphin & Whichard from 1966-80.
His participation in student government and role as assistant manager for the UNC campus’s Young Voters for Terry Sanford gubernatorial campaign in 1960 sparked an interest in politics. He developed and maintained a lifetime friendship with Sanford and among his final acts was his leading support of the erection of a state historical marker for Sanford at Duke University in May 2025. A Democrat, he represented Durham County in the N.C. House of Representatives from 1971-74. From 1975-80 he represented Durham, Granville, and Person counties in the N.C. Senate. During his legislative career, he sponsored the House bill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, a testament to his belief in fairness and equal opportunity for all. More successfully, he was the principal House sponsor of the Coastal Area Management Act, which protects the beauty and natural resources of North Carolina’s coastline for all to enjoy.…
Subsequently, Whichard went on to serve as a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals from 1980-86 then an associate justice of the N.C. Supreme Court from 1986-98. He had always said that, when the time came, he wanted to retire TO something as much as FROM something. Upon retiring from the court, he became a professor and dean of Campbell University Adrian Wiggins School of Law from 1999-2006. He returned to legal practice which he enjoyed until declining health prompted his final retirement in 2024.
Whichard served on countless boards, commissions, and committees on the local, state, national and professional levels- the extent of which was legion and peerless.
A devoted alumnus of the University of North Carolina, he served at various times as member of the board and president of the University’s General Alumni Association, on the University’s Board of Visitors, on the Board of Advisors for the UNC School of Social Work, and on the Board of Advisors for the UNC Center for the Study of the American South. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UNC School
of Law in 1993 and from the University of North Carolina in 2000. The UNC General Alumni Association awarded him its Distinguished Service Medal in 2004. He was a foundation board member for the UNC-CH School of Education from 2013-17, a member of the school’s board of visitors from 2017-25 and was honored with the school’s Peabody Award shortly before his passing.
An avid reader, writer, and historian, Whichard particularly admired Charles Dickens and finished the last of Dickens’ major works a few months before his death. … He himself wrote two award-winning biographies, one on James Iredell, a North Carolinian who served on the original United States Supreme Court, the other on David Lowry Swain, former governor of North Carolina and president of the University of North Carolina. He was a member of the NC Literary and Historical Association, serving as its president from 1995-97 and subsequently for many years on the Association’s Endowment Board. In 2002 he received the Association’s Christopher Crittenden Award for lifetime contributions to the preservation of North Carolina history. He was also a charter member of the North Caroliniana Society, serving at various times on its board of directors and as president and receiving the North Caroliniana Society Award in 2016. He was a longtime guiding and sustaining member of the Historical Society of North Carolina and served as president in addition to chairing its select committee on Constitutional Reform early in this decade. A member of the Watauga Club since 1987, he served as its president in 1994 and 1995….
Whichard was a member of Mount Carmel Baptist Church and a former member of Binkley Memorial Baptist Church. He served his churches in numerous capacities, including deacon, moderator, and Sunday School teacher….. From 2007-16 he served on the Advisory Council of the World Religions and Global Cultures Center, Campbell University Divinity School, and later the Campbell University Divinity School Advisory Board from 2016-20.
Whichard met his wife, the former Leona Paschal of Siler City, in regional church youth group meetings and they wed as college students on June 4, 1961- remaining united for 64 years. In addition to his wife, Whichard is survived by two daughters, Jennifer W. Ritz (Steve) and Ida W. Silkenat (David), six grandchildren, Chamberlain Silkenat,
Dawson Silkenat, Thessaly Silkenat, Grey Ritz, Evelyn Ritz, and Cordia Ritz, one brother, Obie Whichard (Nancy), and many beloved extended family members. He was buried near his parents in Durham’s Maplewood Cemetery with a public memorial service to be held at Duke Chapel on January 23, 2026. Memorial contributions may be made to any of the following charities: the North Caroliniana Society, the Durham Library Foundation marked “Whichard Endowment for NC Collection, the Campbell University School of Law, marked “Allison-Whichard Law Scholarship Fund;” the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Foundation, marked “Beulah P. Whichard Scholarship Fund” and the UNC School of Law, marked “Whichard Scholarship Fund”.
Memoir (sans editing) courtesy of Clements Funeral Service, Durham