VANDERBURGH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE TOM MASSEY SHARES HIS LIFE STORY

Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Tom Massey’s story begins in South Bend, Indiana.  He was the oldest of three brothers.  His father was an Electrical Engineering Professor at Notre Dame, while his mother worked in a hospital laboratory.

Massey attended South Bend Clay High School, and in his time there, he played summer league baseball and walked on the football team his Junior year.  Massey made the Varsity squad later that Fall and in his Senior year, he was a backup tight end on Clay’s only undefeated football team in school history.

While in high school, Massey worked as a restaurant dishwasher and spent a summer working at his Grandfather’s farm in Dakota City, Nebraska. During his first 2 college summers, he worked the second shift at a McCormick & Company food plant. One job was making mustard and salad dressings for 16 oz. bottles to 55-gallon drums. He obtained a chauffeur’s license and drove refrigerated food delivery trucks for the next 2 summers.

After Massey’s graduation from Clay, he had been accepted to Indiana University, Notre Dame, and Purdue University.  However, because of living so close to Notre Dame, he decided to attend Purdue to pursue a major in business.

Massey graduated from Purdue in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the Krannert School.  He then attended Valparaiso Law School.  While in law school, Massey wrote a Note that was accepted for Law Review.  He then became a Teaching Assistant in the Legal Research and Writing Program the second semester of his second year and all of the third year.  He was also a Note Editor on Law Review Board during that time.

Tom and his wife Joanne married in 1989.   Joanne is a well-known Artist and a Saint for putting up with him.  They have 3 children, who all followed in their father’s footsteps by attending Purdue University.  Their oldest, Rachel Alban earned a degree in Biological Engineering.  Their son and middle child, Scott Massey earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology.  While their youngest daughter, Ellie Massey, earned a degree in Industrial Management (business major with engineering minor).

In 2009, Massey started his own law firm, Massey Law Offices, LLC.  Shortly after starting the firm, Massey was joined by Joe Harrison Jr. and Lee Veazey.  They worked well together and a crossword was never spoken.

Massey first started practicing law as a new associate with the Bowers Harrison law firm in July of 1984. While at Bowers Harrison, Massey hired Kristy McDaniel and Heather Zimmer, at the time neither of which had any legal experience.

However, both are now among the top legal assistants in the City, with Kristy joining Joe Harrison Jr. and Lee Veazey at the Dentons Bingham Greenebaum law firm, and Heather joining former Massey Law Office Assistant Laurie Nevil at Stohl, Kennon, Ogden.

Since he started with Bowers Harrison, Massey has been active in Community Service.  He worked as a Deputy Election Commissioner, before being appointed to the Vanderburgh County Election Board.

He first served as the minority Republican Board Member with Democrat Election Board President Wayne Trockman and Clerk Betty Knight Smith.

Since then, Massey served as the Republican President of the Vanderburgh County Election Board under Clerks Susie Kirk, Debbie Stucke, and Carla Hayden.  However, Massey did take a break from the Election Board when Mayor Russ Lloyd appointed him to the Evansville Police Merit Commission from 2000 to 2004.

On February 18, 2021, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch personally called Massey on behalf of Governor Holcomb to let him know that he had been selected to replace retiring Judge Richard G. D’Amour.  Judge D’Amour’s docket was primarily family and civil law, and Massey practiced in both of those areas.

Judge Massey was sworn in at the ONB Event Plaza at noon on April 5 2021, by the Honorable Leslie C. Shively, Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Vanderburgh County.  About 2 months later, the Indiana Supreme Court appointed Massey to serve as an Indiana Commercial Court Judge.  He is 1 of the 10 Commercial Court Judges in the State of Indiana that deal with complex and large asset business litigation.

Judge Massey enjoys his work and his excellent Court staff which are still training him.  He was elected (unopposed) for a 6-year term commencing January 2, 2023.  He is proud to work with his fellow Judges and Magistrates of the Vanderburgh Superior Court.  In his spare time, Judge Massey enjoys fishing and cutting/splitting firewood.