Bar examination
While he did not complete high school before leaving New York to join the Coast Guard, he was self-educated and studied law during his days at sea in the Coast Guard. In 1933, he passed The Mississippi Bar examination, was admitted to the Mississippi Bar on March 27, 1933 and practiced law in Pascagoula until the day of his death on June 18, 1990. His law practice was one of the most respected in the state and he was described as a man of integrity by "The Mississippi Press".