Newton attorney found dead at home

NEWTON, N.C.,None — An attorney who practiced law in Catawba County for nearly 50 years and had run into some trouble recently with the State Bar was found dead in his home Sunday night.

Conover Police Chief Steve Brewer said Lewis E. Waddell Jr., 69, appears to have died of natural causes but the exact cause of death won’t be known until autopsy results are complete.

“He was not in good health,” Brewer said. “He had a heart condition and a liver condition.”

A neighbor found Waddell around 7 p.m. Sunday, after getting a call from his son asking the neighbor to check on his father, Brewer said. Michael Waddell, Lewis Waddell’s son, lives in Baltimore, Md., according to Waddell’s obituary. The neighbor had a key to Waddell’s home and kept an eye out for him, Brewer said.

Conover City Councilman Joie Fulbright, who had known Waddell for a long time and lived in the same neighborhood, called the attorney’s death a sad day for Conover for him.

“It’s a waste that he’s dead because he was so talented,” Fulbright said.

The news of Waddell’s death hit Ken and Jan Herman, a Conover city councilwoman, hard.

Ken Herman had been a friend and business associate since around 1969.

“I was totally shocked about what I heard,” Ken Herman said of Waddell’s death. “Actually, it broke my heart.”

He said Waddell’s health had been failing a lot faster than anyone knew. He doesn’t believe Waddell had felt good for the last year or two.

Jan Herman described Waddell as a tough guy but a good friend, saying he was more than a lawyer to the couple. But his law practice was his life, she said.

Waddell started practicing law in Newton in 1966, after graduating from UNC School of Law.

Waddell had recently retired and closed his Newton law practice and, at the time, said he planned to move away to live with his son.

The North Carolina State Bar was investigating Waddell for mishandled funds from an estate account and had been granted an injunction against Waddell that forced him to turn over his financial records.

Waddell was accused of making two $10,000 withdrawals from an estate without the knowledge or consent of the estate executrix, who was the only one authorized to make withdrawals.

In early January, Waddell said he thought he had signature powers but when he found out he didn’t, he planned to put the money back in. He said he took the money out of the account to resolve the final matters of the estate.

Waddell called it a misunderstanding and said all funds would be replaced.

Ken Herman said Waddell told him he had no reason or need to take any money.

While things hadn’t been going well for Waddell and he had been in a lot of pain from a hip replacement and other ailments, he never complained, Ken Herman said.

On Monday, Ken Herman wanted to dispel any notion that Waddell might have taken his own life, saying, “No, he didn’t kill himself.”

Waddell didn’t let many people know him and probably because of that, a lot of people misunderstood him, Ken Herman said.

“If the people had known him like I knew him, they would have had a different perspective on him,” Ken Herman said.

He added, “He was a nice guy, and I’m going to miss him.”

Waddell’s family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Drum Funeral Home in Conover. A private memorial service with Masonic Rites will be held at a later date, according to funeral arrangements.

WSOC