Former Putnam County Circuit judge O.C. Spaulding is being remembered by the state’s judiciary today as hard-working, well-respected and a good friend
Spaulding died yesterday at his home. The state police say he killed himself. He was suffering from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, also known as ALS.
Judge Spaulding was elected to the circuit court in 1992 and re-elected in 2000 and 2008. During judicial campaigns, he refused to accept campaign contributions. He previously served as Putnam County Prosecutor and assistant prosecutor.
Spaulding stepped down in December 2011 with four years remaining on his third eight-year term. He had announced the previous August that he had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The disease attacks cells that control the muscles.
He was born in Fairmont and grew up in Huntington. He spent one year at Marshall University before graduating from the University of Kentucky in 1967 and West Virginia University College of law in 1973.