NATCHEZ &045;&045; Charles Barnes had a feeling his daughter would make a fair judge.

Last month Gov. Haley Barbour agreed, appointing Natchez native Donna M. Barnes the second woman to serve on the Mississippi Court of Appeals. Barnes, a graduate of Adams County Christian School and the University of Mississippi’s School of Law, has been practicing in Tupelo.

&uot;Since she went into law, we knew that she would make a fair judge,&uot; said Charles Barnes, who with wife Ouida raised four children in Natchez. &uot;She saw too much of the other side (of cases). She can see the whole picture.&uot;

For Judge Barnes, who is in the process of closing her practice and getting ready for work in Jackson, becoming a judge was not always a goal &045;&045; but it was something she knew she could do.

&uot;I don’t think anyone could imagine an opportunity (like this) opening up,&uot; she said.

But Barnes’ work on appellate cases showed her she had the ability to see the whole picture on cases.

She enjoyed her interview with Barbour and was &uot;hopefully optimistic&uot; about being chosen for the job, a position that replaces the retiring Judge Leslie D. King.

And when she learned she had the job, Barnes was &uot;thrilled&uot; &045;&045; and admits she would have been crushed if she had not been chosen.

&uot;In the middle of my working career, to have an opportunity like this, to be able to carry (my career) to a whole different level is a very nice change,&uot; she said.

If Barnes was thrilled, her parents are bursting with pride. Their daughter called on a Thursday night to tell them the governor would announce her appointment the following Monday, and they were able to go to Jackson for the swearing-in ceremony.

Barnes took the oath of office on her grandmother’s Bible, carried to Jackson by her parents.

Charles and Ouida raised a family of successful children: one son is a lawyer in Jackson, while another holds a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry. Their older daughter was the first woman to earn her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

&uot;There’s 10 degrees among the four of them,&uot; Charles Barnes said.

Their father credits mother Ouida, who was a longtime teacher, with their success.

&uot;She always read to them,&uot; he said. &uot;Reading is the backbone of the whole thing. I always tell people, as long as you keep reading, you learn things.&uot;

Charles’ own work ethic must have had an influence on his children as well. The son of a one-time sharecropper, he worked the fields with his father and later earned his college degree from Mississippi College. He worked his way through school.

Donna Barnes said her parents were a great influence on her and her siblings.

&uot;My parents spent their entire lives educating us,&uot; she said. &uot;I hope that I’m able to live up to that.&uot;

Donna Barnes’ home church in Natchez is First Baptist.

&uot;My family, my church have always been supportive,&uot; she said.

Although women were not always encouraged to do what Barnes has been able to achieve, she never felt held back by her family or community.

&uot;I was never told there was anything I couldn’t do,&uot; she said. Instead, she was driven simply to do her best and use her talents.

&uot;That’s what family and God expect of you,&uot; she said. &uot;That’s how you are supposed to live your life.

&uot;I hope I’m able to live up to the nice things people have said about me.&uot;