The Honorable Richard P. McCully

Judge Richard P. McCully passed peacefully at home in Dunwoody, Georgia, on May 21, 2023, after a well-fought battle with cancer. He was 80. Born Aug. 4, 1942, in Highland Park, Michigan, Judge McCully served in the Navy from 1960-62 stationed in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from the University of Memphis with a BS in 1965 and a JD in 1968. He also received an MPA from the University of Tennessee in 1975 and attended the FBI National Law Institute in 1986. He was admitted to the State Bars of Tennessee and Florida and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge McCully began his career as an assistant prosecutor in Nashville, Tennessee, and continued as a prosecutor in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for a total of 17 years. In 1984 he became a partner in the Gunther & Whitaker firm in Ft. Lauderdale, where he represented various police agencies. In 1994 he was appointed a U.S. Administrative Law Judge for the Northern District of Georgia where he served 23 years until retiring in 2017.

Judge McCully was active in the Phi Alpha Delta Law fraternity for 30 years, serving in several executive positions. In 1998 he was inducted into the fraternity’s Distinguished Service Chapter. He was also a Distinguished Service Award Recipient for his work with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Touchdown Club of Atlanta. Further, Judge McCully served on the Board of the St. Thomas More Society of Atlanta, a non-profit group of Catholic lawyers. Following his retirement, he was actively involved in the Citizen on Patrol program for the Dunwoody Police Department.

Judge McCully’s lifelong love of being on the water led him to spend much of his free time over 50 years serving with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary from 1972 to 2022. His other passion was the Miami Hurricanes. He seldom missed a game and served as President of the University of Miami Hurricane Club. He was seldom seen without his Hurricane jacket or cap wherever he traveled.

Raised in Jackson, Michigan, and an alumni of Howe Military Academy, Judge McCully was predeceased by his grandmother Gertrude “Mimi” McCully, Register of Deeds for Jackson County and longtime head of the Jackson County GOP, his father, John M. McCully, owner of Miller’s Clothing in Jackson, his mother Evelyn McCully (nee Richards) and his younger brother, Michael E. McCully.

Judge McCully is survived by his wife Janet, his daughter Colleen Stephens (Christopher) and two grandsons Jacob and Luke Stephens of Ft. Payne, Alabama, three step-children Christopher Carr of Dunwoody, Dr. Sarah Carr Evans of Sandy Springs, Georgia, Toby Carr of Watkinsville, Georgia, their spouses, and seven step-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Maureen McCully Winograd of New York City and Estero, Florida.

A visitation will be held Friday, May 26, 6-8pm at HM Patterson & Son - Oglethorpe Hill Chapel, in Atlanta. The funeral mass will be Saturday, May 27, at 10:30am at All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody. Burial will be Tuesday May 30, at 1pm at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia, with full military honors.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or other charities.