Hon. Elisha Mullins Whisnant, 91, of Columbus, Georgia, died on Saturday, October 12, 2019, at his home. Memorial services will be held at First Baptist Church on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. with Dr. Jimmy Elder officiating. A private family internment will take place in the Waverly Hall Cemetery. A visitation will be held at Striffler-Hamby on Macon Road from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, 2019.
Judge Whisnant was born on February 28, 1928, at his family’s beloved homeplace in Waverly Hall, Georgia, the son of George Thomas and Lydia Mullins Whisnant. He was educated at Waverly Hall School and was a graduate of Mercer University and the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.
Judge Whisnant was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity. He was also the manager of the Mercer University basketball teams for the 1946 and 1947 seasons.
After receiving his LLB degree in law in 1950, he was admitted to the Georgia State Bar the same year and began practicing law in Hamilton, Georgia. His practice was interrupted when he was called to serve in the U.S. Army in September 1950. In 1952, he returned to his law practice in Hamilton and later Columbus.
Judge Whisnant served in the Georgia State Senate representing the 25th District from 1961 to 1962. While in the Georgia State Senate, he was asked by Georgia Lt. Governor Garland Byrd to serve on the State Criminal Law Study Committee. This committee drafted the Criminal Code of Georgia, which became effective in 1969 and remains in effect today. He also served as secretary for the Rules Committee and helped prevent the sale of a large portion of the FDR State Park in Harris County.
In 1970, he was appointed District Attorney of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit consisting of Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Talbot, and Taylor counties. He served as District Attorney for over seven years and then was appointed judge of this circuit and served for over 17 years. In addition to serving as the Chief Superior Court Judge for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, Judge Whisnant was selected by his fellow superior court judges of the region to serve as the District Administrative Judge for the Third Judicial Administrative District, as Chair of the Third District Alternative Dispute Resolution Board, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of Superior Court Judges, and as a member of the Judicial Council of Georgia.
While he was an active Superior Court Judge, he was invited twice to serve a day as a Georgia Supreme Court Justice. This is considered a high honor for a Superior Court Judge as a provision of the state constitution allows for a Georgia Supreme Court Justice to disqualify himself and call up a Superior Court Judge to serve in his place.
Judge Whisnant retired in August 1995, and assumed Senior Judge Status. As a Senior Judge, he presided over a number of cases, became a general mediator, and maintained this role until 2013.
Judge Whisnant was a member of the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Bar Association, Columbus Lawyers Club, Georgia Bar Association, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Gridiron Secret Society at the University of Georgia.
He was also a member of First Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia, and earlier of Hamilton Baptist Church, where he was a Deacon and an Adult Sunday School teacher.
Judge Whisnant is preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, George Whisnant, Billy Whisnant, Phoebe Revell, Elizabeth Reeves, sister-in-law Remona Whisnant, and nephew, Jeff Revell.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Jane Whisnant of Columbus, Georgia; his children, Becky (Ed) Whisnant Roddenbery of Columbus, Georgia, and John Whisnant of Pine Mountain, Georgia; his grandchildren, Dr. Andy (Mary) Roddenbery and their children, Mary Michael, Anderson, and George of Columbus, Georgia, Ruth (Robert) Roddenbery Mathews and their children, Jim and Rob, of Calhoun, Georgia, and Joseph Whisnant of Louisiana; his wife’s children, Charles (Sharon) Hall and their children, Mary Drue and Darcy of Hillsborough, North Carolina, and Judith (John) Bayliss and their children, Jordan and Emma, of Alexandria, Virginia.
He is also survived by his nieces and nephews, Amberly Benefield of Hampton, Georgia, Billy (Dana) Whisnant of Manchester, Georgia, Thomas Whisnant of Geneva, Georgia, Lisa (Mark) Shaughnessy of Waverly Hall, Georgia, and Debra Revell of Winchester, Kentucky.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 212 12th Street, Columbus, GA 31901; Mercer University School of Law, 1021 Georgia Avenue, Macon, GA 31207; Columbus Hospice House, 7020 Moon Road, Columbus, GA 31909; and St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2100 Hilton Avenue, Columbus, GA 31906.
