3 June 2025

ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, will convene a special session of the Court en Banc in memory of the late Judge William H. Crandall Jr. at 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at the Old Post Office, 815 Olive Street, in downtown St. Louis. Crandall served as judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, from 1981 until his retirement in 2005. He died June 30, 2024, in St. Louis.

The Honorable Mary R. Russell, the Honorable Robert G. Dowd Jr., Scott Templeton, Jeff Scott and James M. Smith are the invited speakers. The Honorable Thomas C. Clark II, chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, will preside over the ceremony.

After graduating from Webster Groves High School in 1957, Crandall served in the United States Army until 1967 and the United States Navy Reserves until 1975, receiving honorable discharges from both branches. He attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he earned his bachelor of science in business administration in 1961 and his juris doctorate in 1963. He engaged in the private practice of law and then served as an assistant public defender in St. Louis County. He served as a judge for the Eighth District Magistrate Court in St. Louis County from 1968 to 1975 and as a circuit judge for the 21st Judicial Circuit in St. Louis County from 1975 to 1981. On December 9, 1981, then-Governor Christopher S. Bond appointed Crandall to the Court of Appeals. He was retained in office by Missouri voters in 1984 and 1996 and served until his retirement on March 31, 2005.

Over the years, Crandall was active in the community, serving as a member of The Missouri Bar, the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Lawyers’ Association of St. Louis, and the St. Louis County Bar Association. He lectured at Saint Louis University School of Law, the Missouri Judicial College, and various bar association seminars. After his retirement, he worked for Clayton Mediation and Arbitration and the Pinnacle Arbitration and Mediation Services.

Crandall is survived by his wife, Carol Papendick Crandall, and his two children: James B. Crandall and Dr. Laura Crandall. He also is survived by his four grandchildren: Nyssia, Lillian, Waylon and Caroline.

Contact: Morgan Coleman, clerk of court

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District

(314) 539-4300