Catoosa Probate Judge Gene LoweryCatoosa County Probate Judge Gene Lowery died Wednesday night from melanoma, a dangerous type of skin cancer that had metastasized, or spread, through his body.
“It started in his foot. When it got into his lymph nodes, that’s when it turned bad,” said Keith Bates, chief court administrator for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.
Lowery collapsed a few weeks ago at a mandatory judge’s training in Athens, Ga., and was flown to a cancer center in Washington, D.C. that specializes in melanoma.
“They said there was nothing they could do,” Bates said.
Ringgold Municipal Court Judge Robert Stultz will be appointed this afternoon as interim probate judge, Bates said. Stultz also serves as city attorney for Fort Oglethorpe.