Steve Mershon '69 made his impact as an attorney, judge and volunteer in Louisville. He dedicated himself to success as a student, an athlete and a judge. He has never forgotten where he started and lives up to his Trinity roots.

Mershon was born the fifth of eight children and was raised in Louisville, attending Holy Spirit School and then Trinity, graduating in 1969. Three of Steve's brothers are Trinity alumni: Creighton '59, Doug '65 and Paul Dugan '73. Steve earned a bachelor's degree (magna cum laude) in philosophy from Bellarmine University in 1973. After a year of post-graduate work in psychology at the University of Dallas, he returned to Louisville to earn his law degree from the University of Louisville (1979) and went into private legal practice. He became a partner at Mershon Naber & Joyner and was an assistant Jefferson County attorney.

In 1988, Steve was elected as a judge of the Jefferson District Court. In March 1991, he was appointed to the Family Court Pilot Project. Though elected to the Jefferson Circuit Court in November 1991, he continued to preside in Family Court until January 1996, when he moved to Circuit Court full-time. He was serving as chief judge of Circuit Court when he retired in June 2007.

Steve is a former member of the Board of Directors of the YWCA Spouse Abuse Center, the Home of the Innocents, New Directions Housing Corporation and Just Solutions. He is past founding president of the Board of Children First and former treasurer of the Louisville Chapter of the Lawyers Alliance for Nuclear Arms Control. He is also a former member of the Jefferson County Child Abuse Authority's Multidisciplinary Team and the Louisville/Jefferson County Council Against Domestic Violence.

At the time of his Trinity Hall of Fame induction, he was a member and past chair of the board of Day Spring, which helps adults with intellectual disabilities achieve their potential by providing housing and services in a community setting. In addition, he was the founding president of the board of MB Care, a partnership between Maryhurst and Brooklawn, which serves children with intense psychiatric needs.

Steve has taught continuing legal and judicial education courses and is a trained mediator who mediates family, civil and felony criminal cases. Since 2007, he has co-chaired the Louisville Bar Association's Committee, Louisville Peace Works, which is currently helping to establish a pilot project using victim-centered restorative justice practices in the juvenile justice system in an effort to reduce minority overrepresentation and recidivism.

Steve has been honored with the YWCA Spouse Abuse Center Volunteer Service Award (1984) and the "Humanitarian to the Community" award (1990) from Parents United, an affiliate of the Family and Children's Agency. He was named Family Court Judge of the Year (1994) by the Kentucky Foster Care Citizens Review Board, inducted into Bellarmine University's Gallery of Distinguished Graduates (2006) and recognized as Judge of the Year by the Louisville Bar Association (2008).

All the while, Steve was an active member of his Class of '69, serving on class reunion committees and contributing financially to Trinity.

Steve and his wife, Anna Lee, were married in 1972. They have two children, Jessica and Zachary.

Inducted 2010

M - Hall of Fame

R. W. Marshall

Rod McCravy

Judge Mike McDonald

Creighton Mershon

Steve Mershon

Kathryn M. Mershon

Greg Metry

Trever Miller

Don Minogue

Klaus Mittelsten

The Reverend R. Albert Moore

Dave Moore

Andy Murray