Alabama Governor Kay Ivey authorized flags to be flown at half-staff in the State Capitol Complex and Jefferson County in honor of the late former state lawmaker and judge, John Amari.
A Jefferson County native, born to Sicilian immigrant parents, Amari, who passed away last Wednesday, spent more than five decades as a lawyer and civil servant.
Amari’s family owned and operated Huffman Curb Market in Jefferson County, which the lawmaker attributed as the deciding factor in his first state Legislature campaign victory.
He was a graduate of Banks High School, the University of Montevallo and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Following his law school graduation, Amari founded Amari Law in 1974, a firm which is now run by his son.
He served in the state legislature as a Democratic lawmaker from 1978 to 1998, first as a state representative and then as a senator. Amari was also a registered Republican from 1990 to 2008 and 2018 to 2026.
In a memo released Tuesday, the governor cited the late lawmaker’s obituary, which highlighted Amari’s “sense of community, loyalty, generosity, and hospitality that became his trademark.”
“John had the rare ability to make complicated issues understandable,” Amari’s obituary reads. “No matter what bill was being debated, he could somehow connect it to a story about his family, childhood, or someone he had met along the way. Secretaries and staff often slipped into the gallery just to listen.”
Amari was later elected district judge for Alabama’s 10th Judicial Circuit Court in 2008, and retired in 2019.
“Republicans liked him. Democrats liked him. Judges respected him. Lawyers trusted him. Constituents believed in him,” his obituary states. “Complete strangers somehow found themselves telling him their entire life story within minutes of meeting him. His accomplishments were impressive. The behind them was unforgettable.”
The governor ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from dawn to dusk at the Capitol Complex and Jefferson County on June 4 until Amari’s interment.
A service and celebration of life will be held for Amari on June 4, beginning at 1 p.m. at Holy Infant of Prague Catholic Church in Trussville.
