Charles W. Ogletree was county attorney in Tyrrell County for 37 years, and his contributions were recognized May 17 as friends and family attended the unveiling of his portrait during a special session of Superior Court in Columbia.

Resident Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons Jr. presided over the 4 p.m. session, and immediately suspended all rules of procedure.

Columbia attorney Windy Rose welcomed guests and Bar Association members in attendance.

Attorney Wendell Hutchins of Plymouth recited some of the honoree’s activities after opening his law office in Columbia in 1968.

David Gadd of Raleigh, who began his career with Ogletree, presided over the unveiling, and Angie Sexton, clerk of Superior Court for Tyrrell County, accepted the portrait on behalf of the county.

Ogletree thanked his paralegals, Mozella Roughton and Martha Blount Simpson, and several others as he recalled a few incidents, most them humorous, during his time in Columbia.

A reception followed in the Waypoint Oyster Bar.

A plaque to accompany the portrait states that Ogletree was Tyrrell County Attorney 1968 to 2005, in general practice in Greenville 1966-1968 and in Columbia 1968 to 2014, member of the NC State Bar Council 1993 to 2001, and indicted into the NC Bar Association General Practice Hall of Fame in 1991.

The Ogletrees moved their residence to Greenville in 2017.