THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 12, 1995 TAG: 9507110137
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Linda McNatt
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Locals will remember Ann Simpson Jones as a prominent local lawyer who was active in real estate negotiations, sat in frequently for the county attorney and loved to play on two stages - the courtroom and the Smithfield Little Theater.
Ann was the lead in several plays, including ``Hello, Dolly,'' ``Anything Goes'' and ``Mame.''
But several things have happened in Ann's life since she left this area and moved home to Fredericksburg. The former wife of another local lawyer, she's now Ann Hunter Simpson, having taken back her maiden name.
She lives on the family farm, in an old barn she converted to a one-bedroom home. A simple life, she calls it. She's raising cows.
And, recently, she was appointed to the bench in the 15th Judicial District's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
She was named a substitute judge for the district court and juvenile court in 1993.``The more I sat, the more I felt challenged, the more it motivated me,'' she said in a recent telephone conversation.
She got endorsement of the local bar assocation in Fredericksburg and of local legislators. And - wouldn't you know it? - her old friends from Isle of Wight County, Del. William K. Barlow and Sen. Richard Holland, both Democrats, added their support.
Ann will be sitting in the city of Fredericksburg and the county of King George, in one of the fastest growing areas in the nation, reflective of northern Virginia. She sees it as a challenge and as a way of ``paying back'' her community for what it has given her.
Juvenile court, she said, is ``a special challenge today.''
``I intend to call on the Honorable William Moore (of Smithfield) to give me some advice,'' she said. ``Bill was instructor at one of the bench training conferences I attended. I told him, `What I want is your telephone number.' There are so many problems unique to this court. I know I'll be looking to him for advice.''
Once again, her ties to Smithfield come out. Those ties are still strong, she said, with lots of good memories of lots of good times and good friends. Several of those friends made the trip to Fredericksburg to see her sworn in on June 23. Her first day as a full-time judge was last Wednesday.
``It was a pleasure to begin not only an evolving, learning process, but a contribution to my hometown community,'' she said. ``To have an opportunity to serve as a judge in any of these courts is a wonderful opportunity to go back or repay the community you sit in.
``But juvenile court is a special situation. It is more family oriented. We have an opportunity to touch the lives of many, many people.''
When Ann first moved back home, she worked for the Fredericksburg Commonwealth's Attorney for a couple of years and later went with a private real estate developer representing the company. She then opened her own private practice doing mainly criminal defense and domestic relations. That's what she was still doing when she was appointed to the bench.
In her spare time, Ann is a cowgirl. She gets up in the winter at 4 or 4:30 a.m. to feed the cows and clean horse stalls. If you know Ann, you believe it.
She has about 25 head of beef cattle and boards horses on Ingleside Farm, passed down from her father and grandfather. When I talked with her, she was excited about going to pick up a polled Hereford bull. This bull will be the daddy to all of her future cow babies, she said.
``I raise non-registered stock, bred for beef,'' she said. ``It's not a sophisticated operation by any means. But if you're a country girl, it's wonderful to get up in the morning and see those cows. I love it.''
Few people I know deserve success and contentment any more than Ann. A graduate of the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond, she moved to Smithfield in 1974. She moved home to Fredericksburg in 1988.
As one local who knew Ann well put it, ``She should make a wonderful juvenile judge. She is a person with a heart.'' ILLUSTRATION: Judge Ann Hunter Simpson says juvenile court ``is a special
challenge today.''
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB