Honorable John C. North

The Honorable John C. North II, known to family, friends and colleagues as “The Judge”, was born on October 16, 1930, at Memorial Hospital, Easton, the only child of John C. North and Mary Elizabeth Lednum North. He attended local schools and graduated from Mercersburg Academy, the University of Virginia and Harvard Law School. A strong swimmer and trained lifeguard, during summer vacations from college he taught swimming for the Talbot County Red Cross at several locations on the Miles and Tred Avon Rivers. After graduating from law school in 1954, he married the former Ethel Louise Towers. They drove to Sea Island, Georgia on their honeymoon in the 1933 Duesenberg roadster that he received (at his suggestion) from his parents as a Harvard graduation gift. After serving two years in the US Coast Guard, he returned to Easton to begin the practice of law with his father under the firm name of North and North. In 1962, following in the footsteps of his father, he became State’s Attorney for Talbot County and served in that position until 1971 when he was named Judge of the newly formed District Court of Maryland, where he served for twelve years. In 1983, he was appointed by Governor Harry Hughes as Judge of the Circuit Court for Talbot County. Five years later, he resigned from the Court in order to receive an appointment from Governor William Schaefer as Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission, the State’s principal environmental agency dealing with the Bay at the time. He served in that position until his retirement in 2000. Governor Schaefer named him “Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay" in “recognition of his lifelong personal and professional dedication to preserving both the health of the Bay and its historic traditions”. Active in community affairs, Judge North was instrumental in the establishment of the Talbot County YMCA and was one of its first presidents. He was also elected president of the Talbot County Bar Association and served two years as president of the Country School. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Board of Sailwinds Park in Cambridge and served on the board and executive committee of the Living Classrooms Foundation in Baltimore. He served on the advisory committee of the Maryland Historical Society and the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and served on the Talbot County Planning and Zoning Commission. An early supporter of the Academy Art Museum (formerly known as the Academy of the Arts); he held membership number nine. He was a founder of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, negotiating for the acquisition of much of its real estate, and incorporating the Museum and serving as its first Vice President and later President. Judge North served as the Commodore of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club and for many years as its perennial Fleet Captain. In 2010 the Club paid him a special honor in establishing a perpetual racing trophy in his name in recognition of his preservation of log canoes and his distinction of racing Island Bird as crew and skipper for over 70 years. To the surprise of many, the Judge proceeded to make his own trophy in the form of a hammered aluminum representation of Island Bird. He started sailing small boats at an early age and graduated to log canoes in 1949 when his father acquired a canoe that he had long admired, the Island Bird, which had been built in 1882 by the Judge’s great-grandfather William Sidney Covington at Tilghman’s Island. In 1951 Island Bird’s larger sister, Island Blossom (1982) was purchased and in 1970 Jay Dee (1931) joined the fleet and is captained by son, Daniel North. The Judge was a log canoe captain for over seventy years and won every major trophy several times over, including one remarkable win after losing a mast overboard. In 2020 he named grandson Dylan as captain of Island Bird. The Judge was also very interested in vintage automobiles, especially rare and distinctive makes including Bugatti and Duesenberg. He was a skilled machinist and pattern maker and personally restored many of the mechanical components of his cars. He completely assembled a Duesenberg chassis from a larger collection of parts with the assistance of his son, David, and friend John Todd. The car was displayed at the Pebble Beach, California Concours d’Elegance in 1997 and won a major “Best in Class” trophy and mention for “Best in Show”. Judge North assisted in the establishment of the St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance, served as its first Chairman and over many years, personally sculpted all of its major trophies. His sculpting interest extended to working in wood, stone and a diversity of metals. He has been professionally represented by The Trippe Gallery in Easton, MD and his work may be found there and in collections and private homes. While not a large man, he was remarkably strong and once stepped and erected Island Bird’s twenty-six foot mast without any assistance. After a hurricane demolished his dock down to the bare pilings, he salvaged the timbers and planking that floated ashore and rebuilt the entire one-hundred-and-twenty-foot structure with no outside help. He was in his mid-seventies at the time. Judge North's wife of sixty-four years, Ethel Towers North, predeceased him in 2019. He is survived by his son David North and wife Joan Hoge-North, his son Daniel North and wife Margaret Enloe-North, his grandchildren Drew North, Dylan North, Campbell North, William Spencer North and Nathaniel Vivian, and his former daughters-in-law, Sallie North and Carrington North. He is also survived by his devoted companion of later years, Comber McHugh. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that friends make contributions in his honor to TomCat Solutions (tomcatsolutionsonline.org), located in Easton, Maryland.

Honorable John C. North

October 16, 1930 - September 19, 2025