Be the Judge: Tom Massey Rise To His Role

By Xain Ballenger, The City-County Observer

Massey’s story begins in South Bend, IN, he was the oldest of his three brothers. His father worked at Notre Dame as an Electrical Engineering Professor, while his mother worked in a hospital laboratory.

Massey graduated from South Bend Clay High School, and in his time there, he played summer league baseball and even tried out for the football team his junior year. Massey made the Varsity squad that year and in his senior year, he was a backup tight end on Clay’s first and only undefeated football team in the school’s history.

He graduated in the top half of his high school class and was accepted to Indiana University, Notre Dame, and Purdue University. However, because of my experience living next to Notre Dame, he ended up in W. Lafayette, IN.

While in high school Massey worked as a dishwasher, and during his college years he worked the second shift at a McCormick & Company food plant. His job was to make salad dressings from 16 oz. bottles to 55-gallon drums.

Massey graduated from Purdue in 1981 with a 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.

According to New York University, “notes address unresolved legal issues, typically by presenting enough background information for a non-expert to understand the discussion and then providing a solution or resolution to the issue.”

After spending 25 years with the firm he left as one of the Managing Partners.

Tom and his wife Joanne married in 1989, the two have 3 children, who followed in their father’s footsteps in going to Purdue University. Their oldest, Rachel Alban earned a degree in Biological Engineering. Their son and middle child, Scott Massey earned a degree in Mechanica Engineering Technology. While their youngest daughter, Ellie Massey, majored in Industrial Management during her time at Purdue.

In 2009, Massey started his own firm calling it Massey Law Offices, shortly after starting the firm, Massey was joined by Joe Harrison and Lee Veazey to practice law.

Massey started 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 had any experience in practicing law.

However, both are among the top legal assistants in the city, with Kristy joining the Dentons Bingham Greenebaum law firm, and Heather and Joe Harrison, Jr., are starting the Harrison Law Firm.

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 with Election Board President Wayne Trockman and Clerk Betty Knight Smith.

Since then, Massey has got to serve as 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 office when Russ Lloyd appointed him to the Evansville Police Merit Commission from 2000 to 2004.

On February 18, 2021, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch called Massey on behalf of Governor Holcomb to let him know that he had been selected to replace the retiring Judge Richard G.

D’Amour. Judge D’Amour’s specialty was in family and civil law, and Massey practiced both of these for years.

Judge Massey was sworn in at the ONB Event Plaza at noon on April 5 2021, he was sworn in by the Honorable Leslie C Shively, Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Vanderburgh County.