John was born and raised in Washington, Georgia, and has resided in Thomson for over 30 years. He attended Sewanee: The University of the South for two years, where he was a member of the men’s varsity basketball team, before transferring to the University of Georgia where he graduated with a BBA in Finance from the Terry College of Business. After graduating from UGA, John went on to earn his law degree in 1981 from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

Upon his law school graduation, John joined a law firm in Thomson where he practiced for over 10 years before forming his own firm in 1994. As a young lawyer, John’s practice was very broad including serving as a court appointed attorney to indigent defendants in approximately 8 murder trials in the Toombs Circuit Courts. In recent years, John has been able to narrow his practice to focus on the areas of bankruptcy, real estate (including residential, commercial and timber law), debtor and creditor rights, small business and corporate law, wills & estates, and uncontested divorces.

John is married to the former Mary Cohen of Waynesboro, Georgia and they have three children, Adrienne, Charles, and Barrett, along with four grandchildren.   John is an active member of the Rotary Club of Thomson, the Toombs Circuit Bar Association, the Athens “Y” Camp Alumni Association. John and Mary are members of First Baptist Church of Thomson, where they taught Sunday school for many years before recently retiring.