Hon. D. Arthur Yergey

Early Life and Education

David Arthur Yergey — known on the bench and in his community as Judge Yergey — was the only surviving son of firm founder C. Arthur Yergey and Germaine Graff Yergey, both attorneys (an older brother died three days after birth). He was born in Orlando on July 16, 1930, and grew up in the city his father had chosen to make home.

After kindergarten at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke's school and elementary years at Concord Park, he enrolled at Sewanee Military Academy in Sewanee, Tennessee. He boxed for the Academy his senior year and graduated with the school's first class on May 17, 1948.

He attended Duke University on a Naval ROTC scholarship — initially on a pre-medical track, until a visit to his roommate's anatomy lab persuaded him decisively otherwise. He transferred to the University of Florida and entered a combination-degree program that allowed him to complete his B.A. in Economics and his Juris Doctor on a single track. He graduated in December 1957, was admitted to The Florida Bar, and joined his father's Orlando firm.

Military Service

With his Naval ROTC commitment converted to Army duty after his transfer to the University of Florida, D. Arthur served as a U.S. Army officer in the Transportation Corps and was detailed to the Judge Advocate General Corps on the strength of his completed law-school years. After infiltration training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, he was stationed in Germany at the height of the Cold War, where he commanded military trains running between Frankfurt and West Berlin through the East German checkpoint at Helmstedt. He held the rank of Captain at separation.

He turned down the chance to serve as aide to a three-star general in Spain in order to return home and finish his last year of law school.

Practice and the Bench

D. Arthur joined his father's Orlando firm in 1957, becoming the second generation of Yergey attorneys to practice in the city. The firm's work in those years centered on real estate, condemnation, and construction — D. Arthur tried jury cases involving the condemnation of land for the expansion of what is today Orlando International Airport.

In 1963, Governor Ferris Bryant appointed him Juvenile Court Judge for Orange County — at the time, the only Juvenile Court Judge in the county. He was sworn in by Circuit Judge Frank Smith, won election to retain the seat the same year, and served until 1970. When he resigned to return to private practice, the bench was reorganized and he was replaced by two full-time circuit judges. The honorific "Judge" travels with his name to this day.

Edgewood Children's Ranch

The Ranch's origin lies in the daily reality of the juvenile court bench. Judge Yergey routinely heard cases involving boys whose offenses were rooted in the homes they had no choice but to return to — and Florida had nowhere to send them but juvenile detention, which he regarded as inadequate.

Speaking at a men's group meeting at Edgewood Baptist Church in 1966, Judge Yergey laid that gap out for the congregation. They responded by taking up a collection — $75 — and renting a small house in Groveland, Florida. He connected with John W. "Jack" Lynd, an Ohio native who had directed the Boy's Industrial School in Lancaster (a 1,200-boy facility) before moving to Central Florida and developing his own faith-based residential model. The Ranch opened that year with two boys in the rented house.

In Lynd's words: "Without the vision of Juvenile Judge Arthur Yergey and the call of God upon Tom Wenig and the program of Jack Lynd, the Edgewood Children's Ranch would never have had its genesis in 1966."

In 1968, Minnie "Aunt Minnie" Rouse donated 110 acres off Frank Hubbard Road on Lake Hiawassee — the Ranch's permanent home today at 1451 Edgewood Ranch Road, Orlando. The program later expanded to include girls and was renamed the Edgewood Children's Ranch.

The Ranch operates without federal or state funding, relying on private donations, corporate sponsors, and local churches. Its three programmatic pillars are Family Care, Cottage Life, and an on-campus Academic Program. Children typically remain in residence for two to two-and-a-half years; their parents are required to participate in parenting classes — the program treats the home environment as part of what needs to be repaired, not just the child.

In 2016, the Ranch celebrated its 50th anniversary; Judge Yergey's founding role was formally recognized in the Congressional Record. In 2025, on its 60th anniversary, the Ranch dedicated The Judge Arthur Yergey Legacy Award, presented annually to community organizations that embody its mission.

Lake Highland Preparatory School

Lake Highland Preparatory School was formally established on September 9, 1970, through the conversion of Orlando Junior College — a private institution chartered in 1941 that had voted in 1969 to convert to a college preparatory school after it could no longer compete with the newly opened Valencia Community College. The primary institutional founder was Joseph S. Guernsey, longtime OJC Board Chairman.

Judge Yergey, having resigned the bench earlier that year, joined the OJC board the day after he stepped down — he could not serve while sitting as a judge — and served as a founding Trustee of Lake Highland Preparatory School at the time of its establishment. The school opened its first year with roughly 320 students at the corner of Marks Street and Highland Avenue. It now occupies a 43-acre campus with approximately 3,500 students and is among the largest privately supported day schools in the country.

Three generations of Yergeys have attended Lake Highland: David A. Yergey, Jr. graduated in 1976 and later served on the school's Board of Trustees from 2012 to 2024; David A. Yergey III attended Lake Highland for thirteen years.

Family

Judge Yergey met Louise Mellon at Fort Benning, Georgia, while completing his Army service, and married her three months later. Their first daughter died in infancy in Germany; they later had three children, including David A. Yergey, Jr., who joined the firm in 1983 and now serves as Senior Partner. The Yergeys settled in Winter Park, Florida.