Judge Robert V. FRANKLIN

FRANKLIN Judge Robert V. A native of the Central City of Toledo, Robert V. Franklin, Jr. was born the youngest son of Robert V., Sr., and Josephine Beard Franklin, grandson of his beloved grandmother, Sophia Beard Walls. A lifelong member of Third Baptist Church, Bob attended Gunkel School and graduated from Jessup W. Scott High School in 1943. He selected Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA after receiving a scholarship, where he was immersed in the philosophy of its president, the visionary scholar and lifelong personal advisor and friend, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays. There he was encouraged to imagine beyond the ordinary, gaining the tools to accomplish his dreams, learning from Dr. Mays, "It is not your environment, it is you - the quality of your minds, the integrity of your souls, and the determination of your wills - that will decide your future and shape your lives." Upon graduation from Morehouse, he returned to Toledo where he attended the University of Toledo College of Law, earning the Juris Doctor degree in 1950. He was called to serve in Korea from 1950 to 1952, and returned home this time to marry the lovely Kathryn Jane Harris in 1952, his sweetheart since junior high school. He worked as a young lawyer in the offices of Attorney J. Slater Gibson and William Thomas, one of two African American law practices in Toledo at the time, and was appointed Prosecuting Attorney of the City of Toledo and then Assistant Law Director. During this time, he served as president of the Toledo branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and , later, president of the Ohio Conference of NAACP Branches. In May, 1960, Ohio Governor Michael DiSalle appointed him to the Toledo Municipal Court bench. He was only the fourth African-American in the state of Ohio to hold a judgeship, and the first in Northwestern Ohio. That same year, he served as a delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention that nominated John F. Kennedy as the Democratic candidate for president. He was named one of Toledo's 10 Outstanding Young Men in 1954, 1955, 1958 and 1960, and in 1961 he received the Toledo Junior Chamber of Commerce's top honor as Outstanding Young Man of the Year. He was also president of the Businessman's Club of the stalwart Indiana Avenue Branch of the YMCA and a member of its Board of Managers. Active in the Toledo Bar Association, he served on the Domestic Relations Court and Municipal Court Committees. In 1968, the same year that saw the death of his schoolmate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Judge Franklin won election to the Common Pleas Court of Lucas County, on which he served until his retirement in 1985. Among his accomplishments leading up to this achievement were eight years on the Toledo Municipal Court (two years as Presiding Judge), service for President Lyndon Johnson as a special consultant to the State Department in Germany, France and Austria, and member of the Ohio Municipal Judges Association. He continued to serve three terms on the Court of Common Pleas, retiring in December 1985 as the senior elected judge in Lucas County. Even after retirement, he continued to serve statewide in the Ohio District Court of Appeals, the Common Pleas Courts throughout the State, and the Administrative Judge system of Lucas County, presiding over trials and hearings throughout over 25 Ohio counties through the first decade of the 21st Century. In addition, Judge Franklin has served as Board of Trustee member of the University of Toledo, Defiance College, Ohio Judicial Conference, Ohio Black Family Coalition, Toledo Community Foundation, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Area United Appeal and Toledo YMCA, AAA Northwest Ohio, and the Ohio State Common Pleas Judges Association. But it was his 30 years of service on the Board of Trustee of Morehouse College, culminating in 2010 with the honor of Trustee Emeritus, and his service to Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc. - as a Grand Sire Archon (National President) (1982-84) and Chairman (for close to 30 years) of the Boule Foundation (National) and Scholarship Fund, Inc., which especially fueled his soul. His commitment to the education of the next generations of our youth was his passion. Honors seem endless, and include the Scott High School and National Bar Association Halls of Fame, awards from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Education, various Bar Associations, colleges and universities and community organizations. Robert was preceded in death by his parents, Robert V., Sr., and Josephine; his cherished grandmother, Sophia Walls; his son, Jeffery Mayo; his sisters, Lucille Odoms, and Flora Mae Mudd, and his brothers, James and John. He is survived by his beloved wife, Kathryn; son, Gary Robert, sister, Marie Evans (Saginaw, MI) and a host of nieces, nephews, God-children and cousins, as well as countless friends from across the globe. There will be visitation Sunday 3 - 6 p.m. Dale-Riggs Funeral Home, with visitation Monday 10:00 a.m. including Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity rites at 10:30 a.m. followed by funeral services at 11:00 a.m. Third Baptist Church, Pastor Kevin J. Bedford Sr. officiant, entombment Toledo Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorial donations can be made to Morehouse College, University of Toledo or Third Baptist Church.