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Lawyers with Artistic License: Justice Evelyn Stratton Lundberg (Retired
Lawyers Artistic License:
Justice Evelyn Stratton Lundberg (Retired)
by HEAtHER g. SOwALD
Justice Evelyn (Eve) Stratton Lundberg, retired, is always looking for the next challenge, whether it is a new project, job, life event or artistic endeavor. Of the latter, her creative outlets have spanned from piano playing to writing short stories and poetry, from hand-carving and decorating special occasion cakes to trying out different painting techniques and styles.
Jack Lundberg, a paralegal she met during her second judicial campaign.
Eve was subsequently appointed in 1996 to a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court, and was reelected several times. She discovered new passions while serving on that court, advocating for stronger state and national
Eve and her siblings were raised by missionary parents in southeast Asia, attending boarding schools in Thailand and Malaysia. After a school assignment to write poetry, she continued to craft poems based on her observations of life and society. Eve also took up painting, piano and organ. She was the piano accompanist for the choir at her South Vietnam boarding school, a role she would continue later in Texas for her college choir and travelling quartet, and in Columbus for church services and its choir.
Eve made her way to Texas at age 18, and then to Ohio for college and law school (J.D., O.S.U. 1979). During this time, she met and married her first husband, and they had their now adult sons, Tyler and Luke Stratton. Eve practiced law at small civil defense law firms until 1989, when she ran for and was elected the first female Franklin County Common Pleas court judge. After her first marriage ended, she later met and married
Spring Flowers in the Meadow
adoption regulations and mental health services.
She formed task forces and services across
Ohio and the country and continues to be a frequent speaker on these issues, assisting others to create such needed programs.
While Eve was on the bench, she resurrected her high school enjoyment of painting. She began with oil paints. However, Eve admits to being an impatient painter, and oils took too long to dry, so she moved on to acrylic paints and pastels. Her paintings are of animals and outdoor scenes. Now Eve wonders what to do with the rest of her many painted and stored canvases!
In 2016, Eve stepped down from the Court and joined the Vorys firm ‘of counsel’. She admits that she has not picked up a paintbrush since then, although she doesn’t rule out resuming that hobby.
Eve has, however, continued to pursue other creative outlets, including crafting birthday and special occasion cakes. She began making theme cakes for each son’s birthday. The themes have ranged over the years from teddy bears and trains to lightsabers, shields
Leopard in Jeep’s Headlights
Thai Fishing Boats at Sunset
Sword and Shield Cakes
and swords. Eve bakes the cakes in square or round pans, and then cuts and pieces the shapes together to create her desired form. She finishes them off with decorative frosting and icings, considering them “definitely home-made.”
Eve continues to write both rhyming and free verse poetry, usually highlighting societal contrasts, such as homemaker versus suited-up female attorney. She also expanded into writing short stories, which tend, she says, to be sci-fi in nature.
Her current project is working on the “best of” photo albums for each of her sons and taking care of family members. She is thinking that maybe she’d like to take up clay sculpture or perhaps furniture making, or maybe she’ll use her old tins of eye shadow make-up and paint with those as a “makeup artist.” There is still a world of creativity for Eve to explore with talent and enthusiasm.
Heather G. Sowald, Esq.
Sowald Sowald Anderson Hawley & Johnson hsowald@sowaldlaw.com
