The Elbert and Sara Tuttle Endowed Scholarship

The scholarship was established by the Tuttle family in honor of their father and mother upon the death of Mrs. Sara Tuttle. Elbert Tuttle was born on July 17, 1897 in Pasadena, California. He moved to Hawaii with is family at the age of 9. After graduating from high school in 1914, he enrolled the same year in Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and graduated in 1918. He entered law school at Cornell and graduated in 1923. In 1923, he, his wife and his brother-in-law, William A. Sutherland, picked Atlanta from a map as a good place to practice law because it was likely to experience explosive growth. They moved to Atlanta and opened a law firm which became on of Atlanta’s top law firms.

Elbert joined the Georgia National Guard which called him into service in World War II. He received a Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Legion of Merit awards for his brave and faithful service. In 1954 President Eisenhower appointed him to a judgeship in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. He accepted the position only if his wife could travel with him. Her constant companionship, love and support were critical to his work and success during very trying times. In 1981 President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor, for his distinguished service. He retired at the mandatory age of 70 and became a Senior Judge, later serving on the 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta from its creation in 1981 until he retired in 1995 at the age of 98.

He was a Trustee Emeritus of Cornell University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College and the Interdenominational Theological Center.

He is most remembered as Chief Judge of the 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. During the racially tense 1960s he upheld black voting rights in the South and ordered the integration at the University of Mississippi and the University of Georgia as well as joining with other courageous judges in many vital decisions that changed the course of the country.

Sara Sutherland Tuttle was born in College Park, Georgia on July 24, 1909. She attended school in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from Goucher College after she was married. She married Albert in 1919. She died on November 26, 1994 shortly after their 75th anniversary at the age of 96. She took part in many community and social activities, including working as a nurse’s aide during World War II, acting as a treasurer of the Egleston Hospital Auxiliary and volunteering for the Red Cross.

They had two children, Mrs. John (Jane) Harmon of Rochester, New York and Dr. Elbert Tuttle, Jr., a physician in Atlanta. They were also blessed with nine grand-children and nine great grand-children.