Retired Superior Court Judge Audrey Thomas-Francis was remembered on Thursday as the first full-time family court judge in the Virgin Islands. Thomas-Francis died on Dec. 25.
Francis was an assistant U.S. attorney when she was appointed to the bench by Gov. Charles Turnbull in July 2000. Friends and admirers who attended her swearing-in ceremony praised her as a gracious legal adversary and as a friendly persuader. After her reappointment in 2006, Thomas-Francis began serving in Superior Court’s Family Division.
The experience she gained in handling domestic violence and probate cases while in Family Court helped the judge become a valuable resource as the court expanded and added a Magistrate’s Division in 2009, courts administrator Regina Petersen said in the announcement published Thursday. “Judge Thomas will be remembered for her professionalism, respectful demeanor and faithfulness,” Petersen said.
Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach expressed condolences on his own behalf and of his staff. The lieutenant governor commended Thomas-Francis as one who contributed to the growth of the V.I. Judiciary, as well as a practical educator of law to average people. “A 1984 graduate of Howard University School of Law, she subsequently joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she was actively involved in community outreach projects. In addition to her legal career, Judge Thomas-Francis was an educator who taught “Street Law” courses at Charlotte Amalie High School and practical English to police officers,” Roach said.
And before she retired in November 2012, she continued her service to the youth by supporting the annual Moot Court competition and spending five years on the University of the Virgin Islands Board of Trustees.
“We are grateful for her service to the people of the Virgin Islands. May she rest in eternal peace,” the lieutenant governor said.
