Justice Jeffrey Paul Victory

A Memorial Service for Justice Jeffrey Paul Victory, 78, of Shreveport, Louisiana, will be held on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. at Broadmoor Baptist Church, 4110 Youree Dr, Shreveport, Louisiana. A visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Officiating the service will be Dr. Chuck Pourciau and Dr. Larry Williams.

Justice Victory was born on January 29, 1946 to Thomas Edward Victory and Currie Esther Horton in Shreveport, Louisiana and passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 26, 2024.

Justice Victory was a life-long resident of Shreveport, where he grew up as one of seven children and attended C.E. Byrd High School and Centenary College of Louisiana. Following his college graduation, he attended Tulane Law School on a Regional Academic Scholarship, where he was a member of the Tulane Law Review, before he graduated in 1971. During that time, he served his country in the Special Forces Airborne, Louisiana National Guard, for six years. After returning to Shreveport, he practiced law for ten years with the firm of Tucker, Martin, Holder, Jeter, Jackson, & Victory.

Justice Victory had a long and distinguished judicial career. He is one of only a handful of state judges in recent history to serve at each level of the state judiciary. Elected to the district court in 1982, he was ranked first among Caddo Parish district judges in a newspaper poll of attorneys. He served on the Court of Appeal from 1991 until he took his seat on the Supreme Court in 1995. Throughout his career, Justice Victory consistently advocated for higher ethical and professional standards for judges and lawyers. He chaired the Judicial College of the Louisiana Supreme Court, which provides continuing legal education to all levels of the state judiciary. He was also a charter member of the Louisiana Sentencing Commission, which made sentencing recommendations to the Louisiana Legislature and the Governor. He lectured regularly on judicial ethics to the legal community. He also spoke frequently on the history and workings of the court system, making it more understandable and accessible to the general public.

Justice Victory was inducted into the C.E. Byrd High School Hall of Fame and the Centenary College Hall of Fame. In 2014, Justice Victory traveled to Washington D.C. to accept the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform's Judicial Leadership Achievement Award. That same year, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Family Forum.

Justice Victory was known and respected for his carefully reasoned opinions, unquestioned integrity, and humility. His judicial philosophy was shaped by a unique combination of a strong moral compass and conservative leaning, but also a keen awareness of the value, and sometimes correctness, of opposing viewpoints. He loved to discuss all sides of an issue in detail and had the innate skill of finding the weakness in any legal argument. His law clerks knew better than to present him with any memo or draft opinion that did not include every relevant case and address every possible argument that challenged the premise of the ultimate conclusion. He left no stone unturned and taught his law clerks to leave no stone unturned. It's no wonder so many of his law clerks became judges themselves, as well as successful lawyers.

Justice Victory built enduring friendships around common interests like tennis, motorcycles, and snow skiing. He was a talented athlete. Highly competitive, he was also legendary for his easy-going sense of humor. The moment he got his first job, he became a car enthusiast, owning a series of vintage cars, some of which he completely restored. Above all, he was committed to his family, whom he loved deeply and well. He never allowed career, hobbies, or anything else to take precedence over time with his wife and children. Instead, he often took one of his kids along when he drove to New Orleans, browsed a flea market, or worked on a car.

Justice Victory is preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Edward Victory and Esther Horton Victory; his brother, Stephen Victory; sisters, Sallie McKenzie and Sharon McGowan. He is survived by his cherished wife, Nancy Clark Victory; sisters, Jennifer Victory, Frances Schenkkan, and Ellen Bell; children, Paul Bradford Victory and wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Madilynn and Elizabeth; William Peter Victory; Christopher Thomas Victory; Mary Kathryn Victory, and her sons, Jameson Walters and Prescott Walters as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests that donations be made to Broadmoor Baptist Church, 4110 Youree Dr, Shreveport, Louisiana 71105, Care Pregnancy Center, 921 Shreveport Barksdale Hwy, Shreveport, Louisiana 71105, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 3939 Gentilly Blvd New Orleans, Louisiana 70126 and the Louisiana Family Forum, 655 Saint Ferdinand Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 .

His life of service and accomplishment was, above all, rooted in his faith in a holy God, who has created each of us with value and purpose.