Lawrence Lee ‘Larry’ Fuller
Lawrence Lee “Larry” Fuller, 85, of Buchanan Dam died April 15, 2012. He was born in Tucson, Ariz., on Nov. 13, 1926, to Lawrence Lee and Anna Marie Mullaney Fuller.
He and his family moved to El Paso when he was young. After graduating from Cathedral and Austin High School, he joined the Navy and served in the South Pacific during World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
He then returned to El Paso and attended the College of Mines for three years, later transferring to the University of Texas in Austin, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1950. In 1957, he received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Texas Law School and was admitted to the bar.
He was admitted to practice law before all courts in Texas including the Texas Supreme Court, federal district courts between Dallas and El Paso, the U.S. Court of Appeals, the 5th Circuit Court in New Orleans, the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
He served as the assistant county attorney in El Paso until 1959. He then served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Texas until 1961. He received national recognition during this time when he was chosen to lead the prosecution in the case of the hijacking of Continental Airlines flight 707 that occurred in El Paso. It was the first hijacking case ever to be tried.
He moved to Monahans in 1970. After having a private law practice for a few years, he became district attorney in 1973. He later ran for and was elected district judge of the 143rd Judicial District, consisting of Ward, Reeves and Loving counties.
In September 1986, Gov. Mark White appointed him to the 8th Court of Appeals in El Paso. He served in that capacity until his retirement in 1991. He and his wife, Barbra, then moved to Austin, where he continued to work during his retirement as a “rent-a-judge.”
He loved being a lawyer and judge. In his spare time, he enjoyed reading the newspaper and exercising.
Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Barbra Hutchings Fuller, of Buchanan Dam; sister Mary Ellen Fuller of Albuquerque, N.M.; children Pamela Skinner, Debra and Mike Cunnington and Patricia Brown, all of Albuquerque, Gail Koskie of San Angelo, and Kisa Koskie and fiancé Kenneth Roberts of New Braunfels; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life service is 2 p.m. April 27 at Highland Lakes United Methodist Church in Buchanan Dam.
A guest register may be signed at www.putnamcares.com.
Donations may be made to Highland Lakes United Methodist Church, 8303 RR 1431, Buchanan Dam, TX 78609, or to a charity of choice.
Cremation arrangements by Putnam Funeral Home and Crematory, 145 Texas Ave. in Kingsland, (325) 388-0008.