Pearson To Step Down As Municipal Court Judge

Beverley Pearson said she did not want to leave Wills Point, or her position as the city’s municipal court judge.

However, her future home and her husband of 28 years are both in West Texas.

Monday, Pearson announced her resignation from the position she has held since being elected in November 2000.

"It was a very difficult decision that involved a lot of thought, tears and prayers," she said. "I have lived in Wills Point for 38 years."

The move to another part of the state comes after she and her husband, Kyle, decided to plan their retirement in that area. They bought 60 acres of land in Cross Plains in October last year.

"He has been there since February. I was going to stay here until I could take care of my retirement. It would be 20 years in March," Pearson said.

"It just became too difficult. We would only see each other about every three or four weeks," she added.

Pearson started in local government as an assistant auditor with Van Zandt County in 1989, then became a court clerk in the Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace office in 1992.

In August 1998, Pearson started with the city of Wills Point as its city court clerk, but won the municipal judge position in 2000, serving as her own clerk until the hiring of Lorena Rios in September 2006.

"She’s going to be hard to replace," Rios said. "She is just a good person to work for. She is always looking out for the best interests of the city and she’s always taking care of me."

Pearson said she has "watched a lot come and go" during her time in Wills Point, but feels good about the future direction of the city.

"The biggest impression with me is when the city council hired Jim Stephens," she said, referring to the city manager who came aboard in May.

"I believe his heart is in it and he is in it for the betterment of the town. I believe he will take Wills Point places," Pearson added.

"He lets us do our jobs and doesn’t micromanage, but he also lets us know his door is always open," she said.

Pearson said serving as a municipal court judge is not always easy on a personal level.

"You have to be very strong. People have come before me who I’ve known for years, but I have had to treat them as a judge to a defendant," she said.

Pearson will continue to work in government as a clerk supervisor for the city of Brownwood.

She is a 1978 graduate of Wills Point High School. She moved to Wills Point with her family from Arkansas when she was in the fifth grade.

The Pearsons have one daughter, Rachel, a recent police academy graduate.