Retired State Supreme Court Justice David M. Britt, 92, of Cary, died

May 5, 2009, at Glenaire Retirement Community in Cary after a lengthy

illness.

The funeral will be 2 p.m. Friday at Hayes Barton Baptist Church,

family visitation immediately following in the church parlor.

Interment will follow in Floyd Memorial Cemetery, 1549 Marion Stage

Road, Fairmont, at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Justice Britt was born in McDonald on Jan. 3, 1917, the second child

of Dudley H. and Mae Hall Britt. Their first child, Clifford, died in

infancy in 1915.

Justice Britt was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, the

former Louise Teague of Fairmont; a son, David M. Britt Jr.; a dear

sister, Miriam Purvis of Raleigh; and four brothers, Neill L. Britt,

Carl T. Britt, Dudley H. Britt Jr. and Arthur Victor Britt.

Surviving Judge Britt is a beloved brother, Federal District Court

Judge W. Earl Britt of Littleton; three daughters, Nancy B. Harris of

Raleigh, Marty B. Greene and husband Craig, both of Millers Creek and

Mary Louise Hayes of Leland; seven grandchildren; nine

great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Justice Britt attended the McDonald Elementary School and Lumberton

High School from which he was graduated in 1933. He attended Wake

Forest College (now University) and its law school from 1933 until

1937, including three summer schools. He passed the North Carolina bar

examination in August of 1937 and practiced law in Fairmont (and later

Lumberton) from January 1938 until August of 1967. He served as

solicitor of the Fairmont Recorder’s Court for four years during the

early 1940s and during the 1950s he served as chairman of the Fairmont

Board of Education.

In 1958, Britt was elected to the N.C. House of Representatives and

served in that position until July of 1967. He served as Speaker of

the 1967 session. In August 1967, he was appointed by Gov. Dan K.

Moore to serve as one of the six original judges of the newly created

Court of Appeals.

During his legislative tenure, Britt served one term as chairman of

the House Appropriations Committee; one term as chairman of the

Committee on Courts; and one term as a member of the Advisory Budget

Commission. Between sessions of the legislature, he served on the

General Statutes Commission, the Commission on Reorganization of State

Government, the Courts Commission, and as chairman of the Speaker Ban

Law Study Commission.

Britt served 11 years on the state Court of Appeals and in 1978 he

was elected to succeed Justice I. Beverly Lake as a Justice of the

Supreme Court. He served on that court until August 1982 when he

voluntarily retired. Thereafter he was associated with the Raleigh law

firm of Bailey and Dixon.

A lifelong Baptist, Britt served as a Sunday school teacher and

deacon of First Baptist Church of Fairmont, and after moving to

Raleigh in 1968, he served in those positions in Raleigh’s Hayes

Barton Baptist Church. He served two years as vice president of the

North Carolina Baptist State Convention and for 20 years served as

chairman of the trustees of said convention. He served three years as

a trustee of Wake Forest University, 15 years as a trustee of Meredith

College, and 12 years as a trustee of Southeastern Baptist Theological

Seminary. In 1969, his alma mater conferred upon him an honorary

degree of doctor of laws, and in the year 2000, he was similarly

honored by Campbell University.

He was a Rotarian for more than 60 years and in 1951-52 he served as

district governor for the southeastern area of North Carolina. He was

a former member of the Fairmont Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of

Raleigh. At the time of his death, Judge Britt was the oldest living

past district governor in Zone 33, which covers North Carolina, East

Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina.

For many years, Britt was active in the North Carolina Bar

Association. During the 1960s, he served on the Board of Governors of

the organization and later served as a vice president. In 1966, the

association presented him with its highest award, The Judge John J.

Parker award, “in recognition of conspicuous service to the cause of

jurisprudence in North Carolina.”

The family will receive friends immediately following the graveside

at Floyd Funeral Services across from the cemetery.

Condolences may be made to the Britt family at 3116 Morningside

Drive, Raleigh, N.C., 27607.

Memorials may be made to the TV Ministry of Hayes Barton Baptist

Church, 1800 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh, N.C., 27608, The Rotary Club of

Raleigh Foundation, P.O. Box 20807, Raleigh, N.C., 27615 or the

Glenaire Foundation at Glenaire Retirement Community, 4000 Glenaire

Circle, Cary, N.C., 27511.

Arrangements by Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, 831 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, N.C.

Paid obituary