Courthouse dedicated in honor of the late long-time District Attorney and Sheriff Jack Rowley

Attorney Anthony Ferndnadez Jr., and Rebecca Schoen, grand-daughter of the late Jack Rowley, unveil a photo and plaque of Rowley in the lobby of the St. Bernard Courthouse on June 20, as part of a ceremony dedicating the building in honor of the former long-time District Attorney and Sheriff. Fernandez organized the event.	Sheriff James Pohlmann speaks during the dedication and at left is Anthony Fernandez, who organized the event.
A crowd filled the lobby of the Courthouse for the dedication ceremony.	Members of the Rowley family, including, second from left in back, his widow Elizabeth, and son Jack Rowley Jr. next to her,,stand next to the photo and plaque honoring Jack Rowley in the lobby of the Courthouse.

With the family of the late John F. “Jack” Rowley in attendance, the St. Bernard Parish Courthouse was formally dedicated June 20 in honor of the long-time District Attorney and sheriff who served 52 years in elective office before his death in November 2014.

A photo of Rowley and a plaque were unveiled in the lobby of the Courthouse and his name now appears on the front of the building over the entrance.

Rowley spent 35 years working in the Courthouse as District Attorney after he took office Jan. 1, 1979, following his 1978 election. He was sheriff from 1962 to 1979

“We are honored to be part of this,’’ Rowley’s son, Jack Rowley Jr.. said afterward. “It’s a tribute to a person who dedicate his life to helping this parish and we appreciate it.’’

Other Rowley family members there were his widow, Elizabeth Rowley; Julie Rowley, Rebecca Schoen, Jacob Schoen, Abigail Schoen, Alice Schoen and Jacob Schoen.

Attorney and parish activist Anthony Fernandez Jr. organized the event and it was sponsored by the parish’s bar association. Parish government paid for Rowley’s name being placed on the front of the building, now known as the Jack F. Rowley Courthouse.

Fernandez spoke at the dedication, as well as Judge Robert Buckley, District Attorney Perry Nicosia, Sheriff James Pohlmann, Parish President Guy McInnis, former Sheriff Jack Stephens and retired Jefferson Parish District Attorney John Mamoulides.

Speaking to a crowd of people in the Courthouse lobby, many who had supported Rowley politically, Fernandez said Rowley “left his mark on the lives of many of us here and always for the good.’’

“Through his leadership St. Bernard remains a great place to live and raise a family and we remain the safest community in the metro area.”

Sheriff Pohlmann, whose father worked as a sheriff’s deputy under Rowley’s tenure, said Jack Rowley – never one to seek publicity – probably wouldn’t have wanted any public event dedicating the Courthouse in his honor.

The sheriff remembered that often times Rowley would be the one to greet residents at the door of the D.A.’s office to answer questions they had. And after Hurricane Katrina, when the Courthouse was flooded, Rowley took up living there to help out, rather than leaving. “This is my Courthouse,’’ he told me, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Former long-time Sheriff Jack Stephens said Rowley set a great example for elected officials by being very aware of the power of his office but not wielding that power in a way to hurt anyone.

Rowley, whose father “Dutch’’ Rowley, had been sheriff years ago, won a runoff election for sheriff in 1962 after the death in office of Sheriff Dr. Nicholas Trist.

He was re-elected four times before running for District Attorney in 1978 when St. Bernard Parish was first designated its own judicial district

He took office Jan. 1, 1979, and was re-elected five times before choosing not to run again in 2014. Perry Nicosia was elected District Attorney in November 2014 on the same night Rowley died.