Clair H. Voss

Judge Voss died August 10, 1999, in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

The next year, Judge Voss opted to return to the trial bench, running for election to the Wisconsin circuit court in Waukesha County. He narrowly defeated incumbent Judge Jess Martinez, Jr., in the April 1985 election, and would go on to win re-election one more time in 1991. He retired at the end of his second six-year term in this office, July 31, 1997.

Following the war, Voss returned to school and earned his law degree from the Marquette University Law School in 1948. He practiced law for several years, but, in 1956, took a job as an assistant district attorney in Waukesha County, thus beginning a career in public service that would last the rest of his life. In 1960, Voss was elected to a newly created Wisconsin circuit court judgeship in the Waukesha-based 22nd circuit. He would earn re-election in 1965, 1971, and 1977, and, when the court system of Wisconsin was reorganized in 1978, he was elected to the newly created Wisconsin Court of Appeals. On the Court of Appeals, he was made presiding judge for the Waukesha-based District II. Shortly after his arrival on the court, his first wife, Betty, died. He then suffered a heart attack, underwent surgery, and was temporarily blind. The personal tragedies likely compounded his distaste for the appellate court's work. He resigned in 1984, one year before the end of his term.

Lieutenant Voss was awarded the Navy Cross in October 1945 for his actions at Iwo Jima, the citation for the award reads:

On May 27, 1944, Voss was married to Betty Kivlan, of Evanston, Illinois, in a military chapel in Quantico, Virginia. After her death, in 1978, Voss married widow Joanne Foley. Voss had three sons and a daughter with Betty Kivlan; Joanne Foley had six children from her first marriage.

During the war, Voss was a platoon commander with Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. The unit received a Presidential Unit Citation for the Battle of Iwo Jima. Lieutenant Voss was individually awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for his actions in the battle, but he was grievously wounded—shrapnel from a mortar round lacerated his arms, legs, and head, severed his nose, and pierced his lung. He was evacuated and spent the rest of the war recuperating. He would carry shrapnel in his skull for the rest of his life.

Clair Horton Voss (September 16, 1920 – August 10, 1999) was an American lawyer and judge. He was the first presiding judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in District II, serving from 1978 through 1984. He also served 30 years as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in Waukesha County and was a decorated veteran of World War II.

Voss was born in Antigo, Wisconsin, on September 16, 1920. He attended Marquette University and earned his Bachelor's degree. At Marquette, he also played on the varsity football team. He lived briefly in Chicago before being commissioned as an officer for service in World War II.