Audience gasp at the mention of 44 years

“Poet, a pauper, a pirate, pawn, and a king” — a memorable line from a 20th-century song that outlined a man’s long life.  Tributes were said yesterday to the long life of a Walhallan, a man who devoted 44 years of service to his city.  Friends, family, and associates gathered in a Main Street event center to recognize Julian Stoudemire.  Over 44 years, Stoudemire was a city judge, a mayor, and a city attorney.  Stoudemire greeted his admirers and, together, they remembered past times, some of which elicited a chuckle and a laugh.  Two state lawmakers, Rep. Whitmire and Sen. Alexander capped the evening by presenting framed resolutions of honor from the two legislative chambers in Columbia.  In six years as mayor in the 1990s, Stoudemire recalled how the city grappled with sewer and garbage issues–issues that ring true today.  By profession, he was an attorney in both Walhalla and Seneca.  His parents were educators.  Now, approaching the autumn of their years, Whitmire and Alexander remembered they learned about Stoudemire from his mother as grade school pupils of Mrs. Stoudemire.