Patricia Ann (Gates) McNagny

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Patricia Ann (Gates) McNagny

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Description

Patricia Ann (Gates) McNagny was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on June 29, 1926. She was raised in the small town of Columbia City, Indiana, just west of Fort Wayne, in Whitely County. At the time of her birth, her father Ralph Gates was a local lawyer and banker, as well as a rising star in the local republican party. Ralph Gates would go on to serve as Governor of the state of Indiana between 1945 and 1949. Patricia attended Indiana University, where she received her A.B. degree with honors in 1948. Following the advice of her father, she then enrolled in the law school and received her J.D. degree in 1951. She was one of just three women in her law school class. While in law school, she married Philip M. McNagny (J.D. ’50).

Upon graduation, Patricia primarily worked from her Columbia City home drawing up wills and assisting local residents in real estate matters. At the same time, she was raising four daughters (three of which are graduates of Maurer.) In 1969, she began working with her husband at the family firm of Gates Gates & McNagny in Columbia City. Philip McNagny would go on to serve as a Federal District judge for the Northern District of Indiana, but would die in 1981. A year after his death, Patricia successfully ran for judge of the Whitely County Court. She was the first female judge in Whitely county history. She retired from the bench in 1991, but continued practicing law with her daughter Marcia.

Patricia McNagny served as Secretary of the Indiana State Bar Association, was named a fellow in the Indiana Bar Foundation, was vice-chair of the Whitley County Republican Committee, and was awarded the Nature Conservancy Oak Leaf Award for her efforts in establishing the Crooked Lake Nature Preserve. Patricia Ann McNagny was inducted into the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2014. Patricia Ann McNagny died 2015.

Keywords

Maurer Alumni, Indiana Judges, Whitely County Court, Academy of Law Alumni Fellows

Disciplines

Judges | Law | Legal Biography | Legal Profession

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Patricia Ann (Gates) McNagny
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