The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, will convene a special session of the court en banc in memory of the late Judge Robert E. Crist at 1 p.m. Friday, October 11, 2024, at the Old Post Office, 815 Olive Street, in St. Louis. Judge Crist died March 30, 2024, in Columbia, Missouri. He served as judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, from 1978 until his retirement in 1994. After his retirement, he continued to serve as a senior judge for the Eastern District and as a mediator and arbitrator for The Missouri Bar Fee Dispute Resolution Committee.
The Honorable Gary Wallace, the Honorable Robert G. Dowd Jr., Scott Templeton and Eastern District Court Administrator and Chief Legal Counsel Joy Hannel are the invited speakers. The Honorable Robert M. Clayton III will serve as master of ceremonies.
After graduating from a rural consolidated school in Shelby, Missouri, in 1941, Crist trained as a butcher with Temple Stephens Grocery Company. In 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and played a prominent role in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. He was awarded three European Battle Star Medals, the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the Bronze Star and an Infantry Combat Badge. Following the war, Crist entered the University of Missouri School of Law in Columbia and, after graduation, practiced law in Shelbina until 1978, when Governor Joseph Teasdale appointed Judge Crist to the Court of Appeals. Judge Crist was retained in office by Missouri voters in 1980 and 1992 and served until his retirement on September 17, 1994.
Over the years, he was active in the community, serving as a member of the Shelbina American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Shelbina Christian Church, the Shelbina Masonic Lodge and the Shelbina Men’s Club. He was also very active in the Boy Scouts of America.
Judge Crist was married to Betty Lou LeGrand, who preceded him in death, and is survived by five children, nine grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.
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