Ralph M. Holman

Ralph Milo Holman (June 7, 1914 – September 3, 2013) was an attorney and judge in the state of Oregon, United States. He was the 74th justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. Previously he was a circuit court judge for Clackamas County, Oregon. His great uncle was United States Senator Rufus C. Holman.

Early life A fourth generation Oregonian, Ralph Holman was born on June 7, 1914, in Portland, Oregon, but grew up in Molalla, Oregon, southeast of Portland. There he attended elementary school and graduated in 1932 from Molalla High School (from which eight Holmans have graduated). During the Great Depression, he worked as a clerk during the daytime, posting relief checks. Holman began practicing law in Oregon City, Oregon, with the firm Butler, Jack, Beckett and Holman, before joining the United States Navy during World War II.

Judicial career After World War II, Holman returned to Oregon, where he was appointed to the Clackamas County Circuit Court by Governor Douglas McKay in 1950. The United States Supreme Court left this decision intact when they denied certiorari.

In 1964, Holman was elected to the Oregon Supreme Court, the state's highest court, filling the position of George Rossman whose term had expired. During the summer of 1967, Holman was a judge in residence at New York University School of Law, a fellowship for appellate judges that was awarded by the Institute of Judicial Administration. At the request of his fellow justices, Holman created the plan to establish the Oregon Court of Appeals, which was approved by the State Bar Association and Oregon Legislature in 1969. Before the end of his final term, he submitted his resignation to Governor Victor Atiyeh on October 16, 1979, citing his advancing age. His resignation became effective January 20, 1980, after 30 years on the Oregon bench. In 2005, at the age of 91, Holman and other family members created the Holman Family Scholarship for graduates of Molalla High School. Holman was an avid fly fisherman, which led him to travel extensively throughout South America, Asia, and the Pacific Northwest. He and his wife were passionate collectors of art and antiques, and cultivated roses. Holman died at his home in Salem, Oregon, on September 3, 2013, at the age of 99.