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Former Clerk of Superior Court, Marty Paramore, best known for his work to restore portraits in the Beaufort County Courthouse and organize the annual Big Bad Wolf Mock Trial, will have more time to spend celebrating the holiday season since retiring on Sunday, Dec. 1. 

For more than 30 years, Paramore has dedicated his life to public service. First, as a high school student in Chocowinity driving a school bus. That was followed by graduation and one year as a contractor for the North Carolina Department of Corrections. Paramore left the department to attend East Carolina University. He continued to drive the same school bus to pay for his college tuition. 

In his senior year, Paramore was an intern with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and upon graduation in 1994, he joined the drug unit where he served and protected county residents for more than three years. Paramore would go on to become a probation officer and intensive surveillance officer with the NC Division of Probation and Parole for nine years. There, he oversaw probationers and parolees in Beaufort County. 

Then in 2006, a friend, Donald Sadler, a magistrate at the time, encouraged Paramore to run for Clerk of Superior Court during a game of pickup basketball at the former Washington High School campus. Previous Clerk, Thomas S. Payne III had announced his retirement earlier that year. 

Paramore was “resistant” to the idea at first. He did not want to enter into politics and had low confidence in his ability to do the job. “I think maybe Donald and other people were like, ‘this is the reason we think you would make such a good clerk, because you’re not seeking this,’” he shared. Because Paramore wasn’t looking for notoriety or name recognition, his friends, in part,  believed he would be an excellent Clerk. 

As Clerk of Superior Court, Paramore spent 18 years preserving historical records with the NC Department of Archives in addition to working with interns from East Carolina University to preserve estate records from 1720 to 1960 and working with local artists to preserve damaged portraits throughout the courthouse. 

This was in addition to work he completed filing, indexing and preserving court documents. In North Carolina, Clerk of Courts, such as Paramore, also preside over courtrooms as Judges of Probate. This means, Clerks have jurisdiction over the probate of wills and administration of estates. Clerks also preside over adoptions, incompetency, guardianship proceedings, partitions of real property, name changes, real estate foreclosures and petitions for surplus funds. Clerks also select county residents to be jurors. 

“It’s very serious business and most often it deals with people going through very difficult times in their life. They don’t want to be at the courthouse. They’re a victim of a crime. They’re charged with a crime or being sued. I think the only time people come to the courthouse and they want to be there is when an adoption is finalized. Maybe some people would say when a divorce is filed,” Paramore said. 

Not long after being elected, he created an event hoping it would inspire children to learn more about the legal system or inspire them to pursue a career within the courthouse much like himself. 

The Big Bad Wolf Mock Trials taught hundreds if not thousands of Beaufort County students about the various jobs in a courthouse and how trials are conducted. Using the storyline of “The Three Little Pigs,” children heard the testimonies of the three pigs and the wolf then decided whether the wolf was innocent or guilty. 

One could argue that Paramore’s interest in the court system began as a fourth grader on a field trip to tour the courthouse. Because he was the tallest in his class, he had an opportunity to wear a judge’s robe. 

“I think that field trip really sparked my interest and it was something I wanted to be a part of when I became the Clerk of Court where we’ve had hundreds of school groups that have come to the courthouse for the Big Bad Wolf Trial or just to tour the courthouse,” Paramore said. “It’s given me a chance to do a little bit of the same work the judge did for me when I was a very young person.” 

Fast forward to present day, Paramore hopes his professional legacy will be that “he did a fine job as the Clerk of Court and that he never changed.” Meaning, he remembered his humble roots of growing up on a farm in Chocowinity and kept a personal philosophy of treating people how he wanted to be treated when visiting the courthouse. 

Paramore plans to spend his retirement in South Carolina, playing pickleball, golfing and spending time with family. 

Because Paramore retired during a term, Sherry Gravley was appointed to be Clerk of Court by Judge Wayland J. Sermons Jr. 

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to Marty for his incredible leadership and support these last 18 years. We will all miss him greatly but at the same time, wish him a well-deserved retirement to enjoy his wife and family, new grandson, and all the pickleball he can imagine! While no one can fill his shoes, it is an honor to me to step into this role and continue building on the strong foundation that he created,” Sherry Gravley wrote. 

Paramore’s colleagues provided the following statements about his character and career: 

“Marty Paramore has had a great career as a Deputy, Probation Officer, and Clerk of Court. Each new job increased his contact with more and more people, from those that were not having such a great day when he was a Deputy, to helping those on probation move on to a law abiding life, and finally to running the Clerk of Court’s office that inevitably most all of our County residents interact with during their lifetime. He has done it all with the same calm and thoughtful demeanor and bright outlook. We wish Marty and Laurel many years of enjoyment and relaxation, pickleball victories and sweet spot golf swings,” Superior Court Judge Wayland J. Sermons Jr., wrote in an email to the Daily News. 

“He has done a terrific job as Clerk of Superior Court…He meets many of the citizens of Beaufort County and he has served them well. He is definitely going to be missed,” Judge Regina Parker said. “I know [Paramore and his wife Laurel] are going to enjoy this next chapter. I wish them well.” 

“I have known Marty for a long time.  We worked together at the probation office for a number of years before he got into politics.  One of the things that impresses me most about Marty is that what you see is what you get.  He is a very low key, humble guy that loves helping others.  He treats everyone with respect and goes out of his way to try and help the citizens of Beaufort County.  Every day there are people that come into the courthouse and wander back to the clerk’s office looking for the register of deed’s office or the probation office.  I have seen Marty physically walk them to where they needed to go so they didn’t wander around lost.  Marty goes the extra mile when he helps with adoptions.  He always takes pictures of the family and allows the children to sit in the judge’s chair if they want to.  I have witnessed Marty sitting down with people who have had run-ins with the law and try to encourage them to change their behavior.  Many of these people Marty has encountered either when he worked at the Sheriff’s Office or the Probation Office.  There is no telling how many students Marty has taught about the judicial system through the years.  Marty always answers their questions and even does a ‘Big Bad Wolf’ trail to let them experience how the system works. He always goes the extra mile,” Carl Smith Jr., wrote in an email to the Daily News. 

“Marty came into the office with very big shoes to fill following the retirement of Clerk Tom Payne, but Marty stepped right in and emerged as one of the key leaders in our court system. He spearheaded a number of projects in and around the courthouse, such as refurbishing the portraits in the superior courtroom. Marty is a man of integrity whose words carry weight. In a spirit of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for his service to Beaufort County as clerk, and prior to that, as a law enforcement officer and probation officer,” Beaufort County District Attorney Seth Edwards wrote in an email to the Daily News.