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Lake County Judge Mark Wickens retires after serving 40 years, the longest serving judge in Michigan history.
Pioneer photos/Cathie Crew
LAKE COUNTY — Co-workers, friends, family and local county officials came out to honor and celebrate Lake County Probate Judge Mark Wickens, the longest serving probate judge in the state of Michigan, who is retiring after 40 years on the bench.
A ceremony in honor of his pending retirement was held Friday in the Lake County Trial Courtroom.
Colleagues and co-workers spoke in praise of Wickens, chief judge for Lake County Trial Court, which consists of circuit court, district court and probate court, for his dedication and service to the residents of Lake County.
Longtime court administrator, Georgia Simpson, who has worked with Wickens for 32 years, although unable to attend the ceremony, said in a letter to Wickens, that he has made history with his long time service to Lake County.
“From 1949 to 1950 Lake County made history when Percy Lancaster became the first African American in U.S. History to become an elected prosecutor,” Simpson said. “Flash forward to 2023, and Lake County has made history again with Judge Wickens being the longest serving probate judge in Michigan history. It has been an honor and privilege to have worked with Judge Wickens.
“The justice system in Lake County has been fortunate to have his integrity, dedication and commitment – it is beyond measure,” she said. “His knowledge and expertise in a wide array of the law will be hard to replace. Whoever is in the position will have huge shoes to fill.”
Bruce Kilmer, former Region 3 Court Administrator with the State Court Administrative Office that included Lake and Mason counties said, during his 32 years serving the Lake County area, it has been one of his favorite places to go because of the dedication of Wickens and his staff.
“One of the highlights of my work as a regional administrator was to see the dedicated, caring work court staff carried out on a daily basis, under sometimes very trying and difficult situations,” Kilmer said. “It takes a lot of ‘stick-to-it-iveness’ and caring to do that. You here today know that you are fortunate to have had Judge Wickens for all those years, because he has shown that dedication and service. Longevity is a great accomplishment — 40 years, but more importantly is to stay committed, to stay patient, to stay caring and to stay hard working for those 40 years and he has done that."
“It takes a special person, a special lawyer, a special intellect to do what he has done,” he said. “He is a special person, and you show from your presence here today what he has contributed to this county. I am here to thank you, to honor you and to congratulate you on a great career.”
Nick Wood, current Region 3 Court Administrator presented Wickens with a resolution from the Michigan Supreme Court honoring his longtime service to the courts.
“On behalf of the Supreme Court, we thank you for your 40 years of service, the longest running probate judge,” Wood said. “That is quite an accomplishment, and everybody in Lake County has been very fortunate to have you.”
Several friends and colleagues also spoke of the dedication and service, as well as friendship, Wickens provided to them over his years of service on the bench.
Wickens, appearing emotional, thanked everyone for being there to honor his work and his retirement, recognizing family members that came to celebrate the moment with him.
“This job has never been about me,” Wickens said. “I always emphasize that it has been about the people of the county and the people of the state. My philosophy, with respect to the court processes is, that we want to get things done as quickly, as fairly and cheaply as possible for all the parties because that is to their benefit. The quicker you can get things done and people can get on with their lives, that is the very important thing.”
Wickens said he appreciated all the kind words, but he doesn’t think he is really great at anything, except surrounding himself with the greatest people and that is what he has done.
“There have been so many people that have encouraged me and helped me along the way, there are so many people here that have been instrumental in my career,” he said, “and I appreciate everybody’s support over the years.”
Wickens said he has been active in the Baldwin Promise program and plans to continue with that in his retirement, while pursuing other interests.
His final day on the bench will be Tuesday.
