COLUMBUS
Judge John T. Sharpnack, 90, passed peacefully on March 25, 2024.
Governor Evan Bayh’s appointment of John T. Sharpnack to the Court of Appeals of Indiana enjoyed widespread approval in the legal community. A third-generation lawyer and partner in the Columbus firm of Sharpnack, Bigley, David and Rumple, Sharpnack was recognized beyond his native Bartholomew County as a first-rate litigator. As a distinguished practitioner, Sharpnack was well prepared to serve on the court.
Like his father, Sharpnack was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. ACTL membership is conferred only by invitation and offered only “to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality.” Sharpnack’s invitation to Fellowship in the College exemplified his exceptional standing in the legal profession.
Sharpnack was born in Columbus on May 7, 1933. He attended Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, where he lived with his mother and stepfather. He entered the University of Cincinnati in 1951 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1955.
Sharpnack volunteered for the draft and served in the U.S. Army for two years. He was an ammunition storage specialist when the captain of his ordnance battalion learned he enjoyed writing and ordered him to take a typing course. Thus, while in the army Sharpnack both learned to type and was first introduced to the law as a reporter for Special Courts Martial.
In 1957 Sharpnack entered the University of Cincinnati College of Law and found his calling. He was a member of the editorial board and editor in chief of the Cincinnati Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. In 1960 he graduated with an LLB, third in his class.
Sharpnack began his legal career as a trial attorney with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. He had been recruited by the Attorneys General Honors Program for high-caliber entry-level attorneys. He was employed in Washington, D.C. for three years.
In 1963 Sharpnack returned to Columbus, was admitted to the Indiana Bar, and joined the family firm of Sharpnack and Bigley. His grandfather, Julian, had once served as Bartholomew Circuit Court Judge. His father, Lew, was a well-known and highly respected trial lawyer. The firm traced its origins to 1824, and in 2001 received the Governor’s Century Award, having been in business for more than one hundred years.
Future congressman Lee H. Hamilton was also a member of the firm. Hamilton greatly admired Sharpnack’s ability and recalls that Sharpnack invigorated the firm and “quickly earned a good reputation” and was a capable lawyer, “a natural.” Sharpnack maintained a general practice concentrated in civil litigation and eventually focused on insurance and personal injury defense.
While in private practice Sharpnack served as chair of the Indiana State Bar Association Trial Section and House of Delegates, as president of the Indiana Defense Lawyers Association, and the Supreme Court Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, and on the faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. After joining the court, he continued to serve on the Supreme Court Rules Committee and the NITA faculty. He also became a member and chair of the Supreme Court’s Commission on Continuing Legal Education and founding member of the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.
On January 1, 1991, after twenty-seven years in private practice, Sharpnack became a judge of the newly created Fifth District of the Court of Appeals of Indiana. He had previously applied three times for vacancies on the court, and his appointment to the bench fulfilled a longstanding career goal. At Sharpnack’s robing ceremony, Chief Judge Wesley W. Ratcliff called his appointment “long overdue.”
In recommending Sharpnack’s appointment, Evansville attorney F. Wesley Bowers wrote the governor that, “There are not enough superlatives to describe the qualifications of Mr. Sharpnack,” and Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Ted R. Todd noted his “reputation for integrity and legal ability” and that “although his trial experience has been largely representing insurance carriers in civil litigation, the plaintiffs’ trial bar holds him in high esteem.” Chief Justice of Indiana Randall T. Shepard concluded his certification of Sharpnack’s nomination with the following words: “He enjoys an exceptional reputation in the legal profession for his skills as an advocate, and for his intelligence, fairness, and professionalism.”
Sharpnack’s colleagues elected him to three terms as chief judge. He served in that capacity for nine years and three months, the longest term of any chief judge in the court’s history. He was returned to the court by retention elections in 1994 and 2004. Sharpnack’s reputation was justified by his thoroughly researched and carefully written opinions during his more than seventeen years on the court. Upon his retirement on May 2, 2008, the Indiana Supreme Court appointed Sharpnack as a senior judge, where he continued his long legal career.
A memorial service for Mr. Sharpnack will take place at a later date.
He is survived by his loving wife of 63 years Helen Sharpnack; his son Christopher Sharpnack; his daughter Rosanne Sharpnack; and grandson A. Trent Sparks.
To share a fond memory of Mr. Sharpnack, or leave a condolence for the family, visit www.Hathaway-Myers.com.
Hathaway-Myers is assisting the Sharpnack family.
