FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Former Circuit Judge John W. Hatcher Jr., who served Fayette County for nearly three decades, died peacefully on July 11, 2025. He was 81.
A native of Edmond, Hatcher was the eldest child of the late J.W. “Woodie” and R. Maxine Morris Hatcher.
He graduated from Nuttall High School, West Virginia University, and the WVU College of Law before beginning a distinguished legal and public service career.
Following law school, Hatcher was commissioned as a Captain in the U.S. Army and attended the Judge Advocate General School. He was later deployed to Vietnam, where he served as a JAG officer.
After his military service, Hatcher returned to Fayette County and entered private practice, eventually opening a solo law office in Fayetteville.
He went on to serve multiple terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates, including as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
In 1990, Governor Gaston Caperton appointed Hatcher to fill a vacancy on the Circuit Court. He was sworn in on January 4, 1991, and served the Twelfth Judicial Circuit for nearly 28 years before retiring in 2018.
After retirement, Hatcher and his wife, Alice, moved to Florida, where they quickly became part of the local community.
Friends may call at Dodd-Payne-Hess Funeral Home, 350 West Maple Avenue in Fayetteville, on Saturday, July 19, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Sunday, July 20, at 2:00 p.m., with interment to follow at Restlawn Memory Gardens in Victor.
