Comment on Charles Edward Kirksey, longtime St. Louis judge and defense attorney, dies at 78 by Tom Viviano

['Wendy Todd', 'The St. Louis American', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Comments for St. Louis American 2025-09-04 21:00:00

Charles Edward Kirksey, who dedicated his life to serving the St. Louis community as a defense attorney and circuit court judge during a 50-year legal career, has died. Attorney Booker T. Shaw, a partner at Thomas and Colburn who was also one of Kirksey’s golf buddies, described him as one of the best attorneys in St. Louis. He lent his time to Mound City Bar, a professional organization for Black lawyers in St. Louis. He is survived by his four children, Lauren, Charles III, Christian and Caitlyn Kirksey and grandchildren, Amaree and Nova Kirksey. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 12, at St. Paul AME Church, 1260 Hamilton Ave. St. Louis.