Hon. Terry R. Means ’70, ’74

A passionate legal force with a devotion to justice, the Hon. Terry R. Means ’70, ’74 has spent a lifetime in service to his community.

A native of New Mexico, Means showed an early interest in politics and government. He served as his high school’s student council president, president of the Southeastern New Mexico Association of Student Councils and delegate to New Mexico Boys State, and he was an exchange student to Uruguay through the American Field Service.

In 1966, he enrolled at SMU to study political science and history. He served as president of Student Senate, student body and Lambda Chi Alpha before graduating with distinction in 1971. In 1970, he won the University’s prestigious “M” Award. 

Means expanded his love of government to a wider level, serving as the state chairman of Students for Bush in 1970. In this role, he helped garner political interest among college students for George H.W. Bush’s U.S. Senate campaign, along with his co-chair George W. Bush.

In 1973, he married JoAnn Harris ’70, ’74, a fellow SMU leader who had served as president of the student center and student body. The couple continued their studies at SMU’s Dedman School of Law and graduated in 1974. Next, they moved to her hometown of Corsicana to practice law with her father, W.W. Harris. The couple had three children: Robert, born in 1975; MaryAnn, born in 1979; and Emily, born in 1987.

While there, Means took leadership roles at Corsicana’s First Methodist Church, the Kiwanis Club and the YMCA. Despite an unsuccessful bid as the Republican nominee for state representative in 1980, he took great pride in being elected as one of Texas’ 30 presidential electors pledged to Ronald Reagan. He also served as chairman of the Navarro County Republican Party from 1976 to 1988.

In 1988, Gov. Bill Clements appointed him as a judge to the 10th Court of Appeals in Texas, where he sat until 1991. That year, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to the federal bench as a United States district judge in the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth division. The lifetime appointment, which Means has served for 33 years thus far, required the Means family to move from Corsicana to Fort Worth.

In 2006, he received the Tarrant County Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award in recognition for his outstanding service, and that same year, the Dedman School of Law awarded him the Distinguished Alumnus Award for judicial service. Then, in 2012, he was awarded the Excellence in Justice Award by the Texas A&M University School of Law.

Means and his wife of more than 50 years, JoAnn, live in Fort Worth and have three children and eight grandchildren. He enjoys playing racquetball and pickleball and continues his lifelong interests in politics, history and current events.