DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711160062

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: PAUL SOUTH

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:   67 lines

MCCOWN HAS HAD COLORFUL, CLASSY CAREER

The practice of municipal governance has never prompted folks to leap from their sofas and rush to town hall, except when they get their feathers ruffled.

But Kill Devil Hills Board of Commissioners meetings could always be counted on for at least one flash of color amidst the patent beige of zoning ordinances, dump trucks, sidewalks and site plans.

In a profession dominated by Brooks Brothers suits, subdued striped ties and white or blue button-down shirts, Wally McCown was a peacock in a pack of pigeons.

Last Monday night, McCown was in his usual sartorial splendor - a fire-engine-red blazer and navy trousers adorned with emerald designs of the world's greatest golf holes.

Classic McCown.

But beyond the flashy wardrobe, Wally McCown is a good attorney. In 3 1/2 years' worth of commission stories, McCown is quoted in only a handful. But when he speaks, people listen.

For all but two of the past 45 years, Wallace McCown has been Kill Devil Hills' town attorney.

On Monday night, he announced that he was stepping down.

More than flashy sport coats will be missing from the chambers. A lifetime of knowledge, filed away in a magnificent mind, will be lost as well.

``He had all the knowledge that there was,'' said Bobby Outten, a Kitty Hawk attorney. ``When he spoke, you had to listen. He was the only one that knew it.

``You could rarely ask him something he didn't know.''

In a sense, Kill Devil Hills is a community crafted in part by McCown's legal handiwork. He was the man folks from ``Millionaires' Row'' went to when they wanted to talk about starting a town. He was instrumental in the creation of the town's first water system. And he was an integral part of the negotiations surrounding Run Hill, a complex land swap that will preserve the environmentally sensitive dune, provide land for future school growth and help put an end to the pollution of Buzzard's Bay.

A Johnson City, Tenn., native, McCown came to the Outer Banks at the suggestion of one of his Duke University law professors. He and his wife, Sue, formed a solid partnership in life and law that has lasted 48 years.

What may get lost in all of the talk of his legal exploits and loud wardrobe is that Wally McCown cares about his community. A longtime member of the Manteo Rotary Club and a former district governor for the international civic group, McCown also played a stage role in ``The Lost Colony.''

``He was the tavern man who threw out Old Tom,'' said his daughter Linda, also an attorney. ``He wanted a part early in the show so he could go home and get to bed. He had already worked a full day.''

His theater experience may give a hint to his wardrobe rationale.

``I think it could be the actor in him,'' Linda McCown said. ``He acted in plays in school.''

Linda McCown decided to follow in her parents' steps as a second career.

``I was a computer programmer for six years,'' she said. ``I had thought about going into the law for a long time. But I was afraid of what my parents might say.''

Linda returned to school, and has been the beneficiary of a world of advice and experience. Asked if one piece of her father's counsel stood out, she said, ``Always treat your client as if he or she is your only client.''

The 73-year-old barrister has also carved out an example for other young lawyers to follow.

``He's a colorful character in all the senses of the word,'' Outten said. ``We lose an attorney who epitomizes the best of our profession. He's an example of what we all strive to be when we talk about becoming a lawyer. The town will miss him dearly, and we'll miss him, too.''

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