Joe D. Duncan, retired Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals judge, dies at age 100

Joe D. Duncan, retired presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and elder of the East Tennessee politically connected Duncan family, has died at age 100.

Duncan, a Republican, established himself in the judicial field after being elected Knox County Criminal Court judge in 1966 and being re-elected thereafter until appointed by then Republican Gov. Winfield Dunn to the Court of Criminal Appeals in 1975. He remained on the court through elections, became presiding judge and served until his retirement in 1990.

Duncan's son, Phil, said the judge's granddaughter, Meredyth, was at his bedside at NHC Farragut, holding his hand, when he died early today. The retired judge’s cat, Sox, “was attending,” he said. Joe Duncan had lived in recent years at the facility since his wife, Louetta, died in 2017.

“Joe D. was a father figure to us all,” said Gary Wade, retired chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court and retired vice president and dean of the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law.

The LMU School of Law is named for retired U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. but while Wade was dean, portraits of Joe Duncan and his brother, John J. Duncan Sr., were placed at the Knoxville campus. Duncan Sr. was a former mayor working at Knoxville City Hill, which now serves as the law school, and a former congressman.

Wade said he wanted to make sure Joe Duncan’s portrait was at the law school because “I knew how much the bench and bar respected him.”

When Joe Duncan turned 100 on Feb. 11, his family planned a big party at Bridgewater Place a week later. More than 125 gathered to sing “Happy Birthday” and enjoy cake. The retired judge sat in a wheelchair and smiled throughout as family members and friends greeted him.

Among those attending was retired state Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee .

“Judge Duncan left a proud and enduring legacy. For lawyers and judges, he set a high standard of excellence. Judge Duncan had a superior intellect and strong work ethic, but in my view what set him apart was his common sense, humility and compassion. He greeted everyone with a smile and some encouraging words. Although he was very accomplished personally and professionally, he had the common touch and could talk to anyone and make them feel heard,” Lee said.

Duncan got involved in politics by helping his brother, Duncan Sr., get elected Knoxville mayor and then to Congress representing the 2nd District, which at the time included Scott County where the Duncans were born, worked on the family farm near Huntsville and went to school.

Joseph David Duncan attended the University of Tennessee but left after one year to join the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 as a navigator during World War II. After the war ended, he returned to UT, where he eventually earned bachelor’s and law degrees. He and brother John opened a law office but then Joe left Knoxville as a special agent of the FBI for three years. When he returned, the two Duncans and lawyer B. Rex McGee formed a law firm.

He supervised his brother's mayoral campaigns in 1959 and 1963. After U.S. Rep. Howard H. Baker Sr. died while in office, John Duncan considered seeking the seat but the momentum built for Baker’s widow to be appointed for the rest of the term. Instead John waited until the next election in 1964. Again, Joe Duncan supervised the successful campaign.

In addition to serving in politics, Joe Duncan was active in the American Legion and was chosen the state commander in 1962 of the 54,000-member organization. He traveled extensively throughout the state and told family members he gave over 300 speeches to veterans’ organizations, student and youth groups, and civic and community groups. He was active in other organizations and his church, Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church.

Joe and Louetta Duncan’s son, Phil, followed the family tradition and went into politics in Falls Church, Virginia, where he was a member of the City Council until 2023. He is a Democrat and this writer was at the Duncan home in 2017 when the father and son had a good-natured bantering over their differences. The retired judge said he wasn’t sure his son was a Democrat. “I’m still working on him,” the retired judge said, laughing.

Judge Duncan had nine siblings and made sure family reunions were held. He published a newsletter as a way to keep the family together. Former Rep. “Jimmy” Duncan Jr. said at the time of his uncle’s retirement in the Congressional Record that the newsletter “helped keep our very large and very spread out family a close one.”

Jimmy Duncan also said that next to his father, Joe Duncan “is the man I admire and respect the most.” The former congressman said he consulted his uncle on all his political plans. State Sen. Becky Duncan Massey is a niece.

Before Judge Duncan retired Aug. 31, 1990, he was featured in a Knoxville News Sentinel story. A memory from his life as a judge was of a middle-aged man, who stood before him accused of throwing a brick through a plate glass window on Gay Street. The man told the judge he was guilty and wanted to be sent back to the state penitentiary where he had spent more of his life. He also had terminal cancer and asked the judge if he could be buried beside his parents in a Knoxville cemetery.

The judge sent the man back to the penitentiary – and went a step further. He wrote the warden. “I told him I sure hope that if there was any way possible, he would see the man was buried next to his parents. Sure enough, I read sometime later he was to have graveside services in the cemetery,” Judge Duncan said at the time.

In addition to Phil and Meredyth Duncan, survivors include Phil’s wife, Leslie, and grandson Tyler. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Georgiana Vines is retired News Sentinel associate editor. She may be reached at gvpolitics@hotmail.com .

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Joe D. Duncan, retired Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals judge, dies at age 100