Part of Highway 74 in Cape Girardeau is now named after a Cape Girardeau lawyer.

On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder signed House Bill 56 on Gov. Matt Blunt's behalf, designating portions of Missouri's highways in honor of law enforcement officials, rail workers, community advocates and Missouri leaders.

Highway 74 from Kingshighway to the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is "John Oliver Jr. Parkway" under the new law.

"Missouri is blessed to be home to countless devoted public servants, who give their time and dedicate their lives to improving our state and protecting our safety," Kinder said in a statement.

Kinder said Oliver, who died May 12, 2005, at age 62, brought a dominating and genius-level intelligence to public service.

A fourth-generation lawyer, Oliver first attended Yale University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1965. That same year he entered the University of Missouri School of Law. While in law school, Oliver earned numerous awards and scholarships, and made the highest grade point average in the law school's history. He was the editor in chief of the Missouri Law Review and valedictorian of the Class of 1968. That year he began a clerkship with Judge Roy W. Harper of the U.S. District for the Eastern District of Missouri.

After his clerkship, Oliver returned to Cape Girardeau in 1969 and joined the law firm his great-grandfather, Sen. R.B. Oliver, founded in 1894. Practicing in his early years with his father, grandfather and great-uncle, Oliver represented national corporate clients, local small businesses and those engaged in agriculture.

In 1989, Gov. John Ashcroft nominated Oliver to the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. He served a six-year term.

Oliver was also affiliated with the construction of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and was on hand for its opening in December 2003.

jsamons@semissourian.com

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