Edwin Brown Hatch Jr.

Born in Pittsboro, North Carolina on August 29, 1928, he was the son of Edwin Brown, Sr. and Elizabeth Chapin Hatch. He maintained a great love of his birthplace and Chatham County.

Enrolling at The Citadel the day after his 16th birthday, he withdrew two years later to join the United States Army Air Corps and serve in Germany for the Berlin Airlift.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina, with an AB in political science in 1950, and the UNC School of Law in 1953, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and selected for Law Review. He was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity.

Beginning his professional career in private practice, he was later appointed to the Secretary of State’s office in Raleigh to administer the new corporation laws, as rewritten by the General Assembly. Returning to Pittsboro to practice law with Harry Horton as partner in the firm Horton and Hatch, he enjoyed pleading cases in the Chatham County Courthouse where his father had been Clerk of the Superior Court for thirty years.

After holding positions in the U.S. Departments of Justice and Commerce, specializing in Indian Affairs, in Washington D.C., he returned to private practice in Raleigh, and retired after serving as staff attorney for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport and with the State Attorney General’s Division of Highways.

An ardent Democrat, he had a keen interest in local and national politics. He was a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, and on the boards of the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union, the Raleigh Rescue Mission, and the Architectural Board of the City of Raleigh.

Survivors include his wife, Ardis Maureen Messick Hatch; his son, William Hamilton Hatch; his daughter, Elizabeth Hatch Holsopple; and five grandchildren, Russell Hatch, Logan Hatch, Kelly Holsopple, Jack Holsopple, and Rachel Holsopple, all of Raleigh; and a sister, Elizabeth Hatch Pollard of Staunton, Virginia.

A Memorial service will be held Friday, November 25, 2:00 pm at Pullen Memorial Baptist in Raleigh. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Raleigh Rescue Mission.