Friends, family, former and current members of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, other judges, and attorneys gathered in the Supreme Court courtroom recently to dedicate a portrait of former Chief Justice I. Beverly Lake, Jr. Chief Justice Lake served on the court from 1992 until his retirement in 2006, and as chief justice from 2001 to 2006.

Chief Justice Lake's portrait was painted by T. John F. Becker of Edenton. Chief Justice Lake is a native of Wake Forest, N.C., and attended Wake Forest University for his undergraduate and law degree in 1960. His father, I. Beverly Lake, Sr. also served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Lake served in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence officer, a deputy attorney general, a state senator, and advisor to Governor Martin before being appointed special superior court judge in 1985.

He is married to Susan Deichmann Smith of New Bern and they share four children and nine grandchildren. Chief Justice Lake is a Mason and a Shriner. He is well known for his sense of humor and pranks. One of the most talked about events was bouncing a basketball down the halls of the Supreme Court building in Raleigh the morning after Wake Forest University won the ACC Basketball Championship in 1995.

It is tradition in North Carolina for each chief justice, upon retirement, to have a portrait painted and hung in the Supreme Court, if they desire. Associate justices may have their paintings hung in the hallway outside of the courtroom.