Limbaugh's legacy

The brilliant autumn weather that has graced Southeast Missouri recently helped make the dedication of the Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau a stunning affair. Several hundred invited guests gathered to listen to members of the Limbaugh family and local, state and federal dignitaries as they officially opened the courthouse. They were joined by visitors who toured the building.

The dedication rightly focused on the legal legacy of the building's namesake. Rush Hudson Limbaugh Sr. was a distinguished lawyer. And he was what we call, in this fast-paced, helter-skelter age, a "gentleman." The dictionary definition of "gentleman" that comes closest to describing Limbaugh is this: "a courteous, gracious man with a strong sense of honor." Anyone who ever knew Limbaugh regarded him truly as a gentleman in every sense. They also were amazed, even after the nation's oldest practicing lawyer lost his eyesight and needed assistance getting around in public, at Limbaugh's memory, which held entire or long parts of speeches and historic documents. Members of the Rotary Club of Cape Girardeau, known for its rousing singing at each meeting, were chagrined by the 100-plus-year-old Limbaugh's strong voice and his ability to sing all the songs from memory.

Now that the courthouse is being used, it was good to learn that the grandson of the man for whom the courthouse is named will become the first U.S. district judge to be based primarily in Cape Girardeau. Stephen Limbaugh Jr., who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate earlier this year to the federal bench, resides here and will hear many of the cases at the new courthouse. Before his appointment by President Bush as a federal judge, Limbaugh was a judge of the Missouri Supreme Court. His father, Stephen Limbaugh Sr., who spoke so eloquently of his father at the dedication, also was a federal judge.