IndyBar has learned of the passing of Hon. Cynthia J. Ayers on Saturday who served as the Indianapolis Bar Association's first African American President in 2006. Cynthia touted an impressive career, recently retiring from the Marion Superior Court after 32 years. She was the 2024 recipient of the Antionette Dakin Leach Award, an award reserved only for trailblazing Hoosier females in the legal community. She was also a Distinguished Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation. Cynthia will be dearly missed. Any known information regarding Judge Ayers' passing can be found here.
Hon. Tanya Walton Pratt shared the below statement on behalf of the family with us today, April 21:
"It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of Judge Cynthia Ayers on April 20, 2025. Judge Ayers was a trailblazer in the Indiana legal community and the first woman of color elected to the Marion Superior Court. She recently assumed senior judge status after 32 years on the Marion Superior Court. Throughout her legal career Judge Ayers was a mentor to many. She was active in several bar associations. She worked her way up the ranks and was elected President of the Indianapolis Bar Association in 2006, becoming the first African American to serve as President of the prestigious organization. She served in leadership roles with the Indiana State Bar Association, the Marion County Bar Association, the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association, and the Indiana Judges Association.
Judge Ayers quick wit, balanced temperament, sound judgment and pragmatic jurisprudence will be sorely missed."
Arrangements for Judge Ayers will be held on Friday, May 2 at Crown Hill Funeral Home & Cemetery [700 W. 38th St., Indianapolis, IN 46208]. The Calling is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Service will begin at 1 p.m.
You can read her obituary here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/indianapolis-in/cynthia-ayers-12348860
You can read the IndyStar Profile on Judge Ayers here: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2025/04/23/judge-cynthia-ayers-remembered-as-first-black-female-elected-marion-county/83210189007/
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