Following the March 26 death of retired longtime Pamlico County Judge Jimmy Ragan at age 84, his onetime colleague Dave McFayden recalled a decades-old interaction that spoke volumes about Ragan’s character.

“When I was a young (Assistant District Attorney) back in ’79, an elderly woman came into court charged with running a stoplight,” McFayden said.

The woman had a clean record. But when she ran that stoplight, a policeman was driving directly behind her, and she was, beyond a doubt, guilty of the infraction, McFayden said. He wanted to help her with a plea that would not impact her insurance, but she refused. “She just wanted to tell her story,” he said.

The case against her was open and shut, and she had no evidence to argue. “She just said she didn’t believe she ran the stoplight,” McFayden said. 

As judge, Ragan considered the case and found her not guilty.

“When the lady left, he called me up to the bench,” McFayden said. “He said, ‘David, I looked at that lady sitting there and she reminded me of my grandmother. I just couldn’t bring myself to convict my grandmother.’

“That always stuck with me,” McFadyen said about the act of mercy. “It taught me a valuable lesson.”

Ragan retired from the bench in 2002, but he didn’t retire from civic life.. 

Born a New Bernian, he lived nearly all his life in the quaint waterfront town of Oriental, where his impact was felt both in the courts and in the community for years.

A lawyer by trade, he was appointed by then Gov. Jim Hunt to the District Court in 1979, a post he served in until being named Chief District Court Judge of District 3B in 1991. He was again appointed by Hunt, this time as Superior Court Judge in 1994, a post he held until his retirement in 2002.

Colleagues remembered him for his fairness and his ability to recognize when a case called for toughness or leniency. 

“He possessed the good judgement, temperament and common sense necessary to be a fair and impartial judge,” said former District Attorney Scott Thomas, now with Greene, Wilson, Styron & Thomas. 

McFadyen recalled that “in serious cases, he was a serious judge. In a case where mercy was appropriate, he would dispense mercy.”

Former Craven County Sheriff Jerry Monette also described  Ragan as fair but firm. “It was obvious that he cared about the people in his community and district,” he said. “I was honored for him to swear me in on my first term of office.”

Among Ragan’s successes was the development of state drug courts, where offenders who had committed property crimes because of addiction issues could take part in a rehabilitation program to avoid prison. 

McFadyen traveled with Ragan, then a probation officer and a law enforcement officer, to observe a drug court program in New York in 2000. On their return, they enthusiastically set up a similar model in Craven County. “He participated … to help set up drug court programs throughout the state,” McFadyen said.

Ragan’s impact on the community was felt in many capacities. 

“Even after he completed his service as judge, he continued to be actively involved in helping people whenever he could,” Thomas said.

Pamlico County Sheriff Chris Davis, who had not interacted with Ragan during his years on the bench, was still well aware of him. 

“As a respected leader, he was instrumental in advocating for local economic development, education, and public safety initiatives,” he wrote, “which significantly improved the quality of life for residents.”

Ragan  also was known for his playwriting skills. “Jimmy had so many talents, and as a writer was one of them,” said his friend Nancy Piner. 

His humorous plays were performed at the Old Theater in Oriental and in New Bern and featured local history. One piece that stands out, Piner said, was about the first school bus in the state, which served Oriental.

Among Ragan’s social contributions  was the founding of Pamlico Partners for Democracy. He started it, Piner said, with Merritt Watson, a pastor in Arapahoe. Although Ragan was an active, lifelong Democrat, and Watson a conservative Republican, the two agreed there should be a group that promoted unity. 

“He saw that there was a need for, instead of there being one side versus the other, to find common ground,” said his son, Jamie Ragan. “I think he and Merritt have done a good job with putting that organization together and balance both sides. It wasn’t Republican, it wasn’t Democrat, it wasn’t Independent.

“He was very much into his professional life and what he did,” Jamie Ragan said. “But probably just as important to him was what he did outside of being a lawyer, being a judge. He was involved in so many different organizations in Pamlico County over the years. … He gave a lot of his time. That’s not something that we all do, but he did it, and he did not look for recognition.”

For his children, Ragan was known for two things in particular: his ability to weave a great story and his love of hunting and fishing. He shared those hobbies with them. 

“My favorite memories are red drum fishing in the night, me and my daughter with him out on the boat,” said his daughter, Renee Schromm. 

“Duck hunting was his thing, and I kind of took on that love as well,” his son said.

Hugh Midyette, who was friends with Ragan’s children, became a lifelong hunting partner for Ragan. “He had a little duck camp down in Lowland and we would go down there and hunt with his son, Jamie, and his nephew Josh. … He was a second father to me,” Midyette said. “My children would go down there some and hunt with him. We had a really good time.” 

Midyette recalled Ragan’s sense of humor — and his lack of sense of direction on his boat. “He wasn’t a very good navigator,” Midyette said. “We used to hunt around Lowland a lot. We were on his boat, and he would always want to turn right and go into Jim’s Creek and end up lost.”

Ragan took hunting trips to Canada, often with his children and Midyette. On one of those trips, Midyette said he caught the old judge violating the law: Ragan was standing with his spaniel dog, Jazz, in front of a sign that said you couldn’t have your dog there. “He had his dog doing his business there. It was a hilarious moment,” he said.

Despite the taxing courts schedule, his children said, Ragan always showed up for them. 

“He made time for us kids,” Jamie Ragan said. “When I was at Pam HS and played baseball and played football, Dad was district court judge at that time and Pitt County was part of that district. … There were very few times when he missed the opportunity to be there. He was very supportive, growing up.”

He was a great father, Renee Schrom said. He “loved the outdoors and taught us about the outdoors,” she said. “He loved his great-grandkids and seeing them.”

He never told his kids what to do, Jamie Ragan said, “but his guidance and his feedback never led me down the wrong path.” 

Ragan’s daughter added, “We got a lot of our ethics and worldly standards from him.”

Friends and family recalled his laugh and his tales. “There are very few people in my life where I could go in a crowd of 100 people and just close my eyes and sit there and listen and if I hear a laugh, know it and say so-and-so is here,” Jamie Ragan said. “Dad was one of those people.”

Ragan stayed active his entire life. “He never sat down,” Renee Schrom said.

“Even when he retired,” Jamie Ragan said, “he goes and takes the test  to be a real estate agent in North Carolina. He told me he went over to take the test and the lady that was checking him in was like, ‘You’re 78 years old. Why are you doing this?’ He said, ‘Because I want to see if I can do it.’”

Davis eulogized Ragan at his funeral, saying, “His unwavering focus on creating opportunities for future generations ensures that his influence will be felt long after his tenure, solidifying his status as an enduring champion of Pamlico County.”

Jamie Ragan echoed the sentiment: “He’s going to be missed by our family, but he’s also going to be missed by a lot of folks in the county.”

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