Boyce Holleman

Boyce Holleman was born and raised in Wiggins, Mississippi, began the practice of law there in May, 1950 and comes from an old pioneer lumbering family in South Mississippi. He and his family moved to Gulfport in 1967, where he resided at the time of his death. He served in World War II as a Naval Aviator, was shot down while making a bomb run at the invasion of Saipan and spent 14 months recovering from severe burns sustained. He retired from the Navy with the rank of Lt. Commander and was awarded the Purple Heart. He attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at Perkinston and the University of Mississippi graduating from Law School in 1950. He was a lifelong fan of both institutions. He was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1947 and served until 1953 when he resigned in the second term to become District Attorney for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He was re-elected 5 times to the position, retiring in 1972, after 19 years, to return to the private practice of law. He was joined in his private practice by his sons, Mike, Tim and Dean. He served as Attorney for the Board of Supervisors of Harrison County for 18 years and the Harrison County School District for 15 years. He was elected President of the Mississippi State Bar Association serving from 1969 through 1970. In 1995 he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Law Award by the Mississippi State Bar Association. He was recently 1 of 5 lawyers in the State of Mississippi selected by the Bar Association to have an autobiographical video made of his legal career, which is entitled "Trailblazers of the Mississippi Legal Frontier". He has lectured widely on the legal circuit, and in 1975 began a theatrical career, which led him to perform many stage roles, appear in many movies and television series. Boyce had a starring role in a movie based on Eudora Welty's book called "The Ponder Heart." He remained an active member of the Screen Actors Guild.