John W. Reynolds

John Whitcome Reynolds Jr. (April 4, 1921January 6, 2002) was the 36th governor of Wisconsin (1963–1965) and served 21 years as a United States district judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (1965–1986). A Democrat, he previously served as the 34th attorney general of Wisconsin (1959–1963). His father, John W. Reynolds Sr., was the 26th Attorney General of Wisconsin; his grandfather, Thomas Reynolds, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Early life John W. Reynolds Jr. was born April 4, 1921, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the son of Madge (Flatley) and John W. Reynolds Sr. He was educated at Green Bay, and graduated from Green Bay East High School. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, but interrupted his studies in 1942 to enlist in the United States Army for service in World War II. He initially served in the infantry, rising to the rank of master sergeant by 1944. That year, he was commissioned as an officer and transferred to the Counterintelligence Corps, where he continued to serve until 1946. He was honorably discharged in 1946 as a first lieutenant, but remained in the United States Army Reserve into the 1950s. After leaving active duty, he completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin. He immediately entered University of Wisconsin Law School, where he earned his LL.B. in 1949. While in law school, he became involved with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and the Young Democrats and worked as a legal research assistant in the office of the Attorney General of Wisconsin. After graduation, he moved with his wife back to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and started a legal practice there. Political career