Kenneth M. Romines (Alpha Delta–William Jewell ’63), Judge on the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals 2005 to 2012, died on Monday, October 3, 2022. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Ken worked as a law clerk on the Mississippi Supreme Court, an assistant Missouri attorney general, and a private practice lawyer. As assistant Missouri attorney general, Ken successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972. He was appointed as a circuit judge for St. Louis County in 1987 by Governor John Ashcroft, and he held this position until his appointment to the Missouri Court of Appeals by Governor Matt Blunt.
Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, and raised most of his life in St. Louis, Missouri, Ken graduated from William Jewell College in 1965, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Order and where he met his wife of 56 years, Jane Hackett Romines. Married in June of 1966, Ken and Jane moved to Oxford, Mississippi, where Ken attended the University of Mississippi School of Law, graduating in 1968. A dedicated and respected jurist, Ken served as a mentor and teacher for innumerable attorneys, clerks, and fellow members of the bench throughout his long legal career.
Ken loved God, his family, the law, and his Ole Miss Rebels. His sharp wit and joyful ribbing endeared him to not only his peers and family, but to the families of his peers, his children’s friends, and his grandchildren’s friends. Ken loved nothing more than sitting in his backyard surrounded by his wife, children, grandchildren, and friends … preferably while listening to Mike Shannon and Jack Buck or watching Archie and Eli Manning at the Vaught.
Ken is survived by his beloved wife, Jane; his daughters, Elizabeth Romines, Katherine Littleton, and Emily Romines; his son-in-law, Geoffrey Littleton; granddaughters Madeleine and Gillian Littleton, and Riley Mullgardt; sister-in-law Katherine Best; nieces Margaret Simer (Danny) and Suzanne Langley (Greg); and great-niece and great-nephew Jessica Smith (Jonathan) and Samuel Simer (Annalise).
A memorial service is to be held Friday, November 4 at 1:00 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church (7700 Davis Dr., Clayton, MO), where Ken was a member for 42 years.
Ken was a member of the Loyal Order, a five-year member of the KAOEF Crimson & Gold Society, and was presented the Order’s Award for Distinguished Public Service during the 77th Convention & Brotherhood Weekend in St. Louis, Missouri in 2017.
Donations to the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation in Ken’s memory can be made at our Donate page.
