Joe K. Thigpen

I am attorney Joe Thigpen and I grew up in Tyler, Texas. I attended all Tyler schools, Douglas, Rice, Hubbard, Robert E. Lee and Tyler Junior College and, while in high school and junior college, I worked at Brookshire Grocery Company.

I attended East Texas State University, now Texas A&M University-Commerce and, during college, I managed the student union building and later taught in the psychology department. Upon my return to Tyler from law school at the Texas Tech University School of Law, I clerked for the Tyler Court of Appeals and the United States District Court. I also taught part time in the legal assistant program at Tyler Junior College for nine years. I have practiced as a lawyer in Tyler for more than 30 years.

For over 20 years I have volunteered at the East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. as a board member and provider of legal services to blind and visually impaired people. I am currently the chairman of the Lighthouse committee that awards education and technology scholarships for blind people or their children. I teach an adult Sunday school class at Green Acres Baptist Church.