Blayne Norman may be new to the Hughes County District Attorney’s office, but the young, new Assistant District Attorney is no stranger to Hughes County. Norman’s roots run deep in the Holdenville and Wewoka area, going back three generations. Blayne’s great-grandfather was perhaps the most well-known businessman in both Holdenville and Wewoka where he and his wife Jean owned and operated two funeral homes.

Blayne’s grandfather, Jim Phillips, attended and graduated from Dallas Mortuary School in 1950. Imogene “Jean” Davault, of Noble, OK, met James “Jim” Phillips, of Sayre, OK, in January of 1952 in Norman, OK. On September 26, 1952, they were wed. At that time, they both worked at Primrose Funeral Home where Jean was a secretary and Jim worked while attending the University of Oklahoma.

Blayne’s grandfather, Dennis Phillips, was born to Jim and Jean in Sayre on July 4, 1953. After teaching high school science for a year in Guthrie, Jim moved his family to Edmond where he worked at Kessler Funeral home when Blayne’s uncle, Gary Phillips was born September 9, 1955. The family moved to Chandler after Gary was born, where Jim worked for Curry Funeral Home. Shortly thereafter, Jim started Phillips Funeral Home in Comanche, OK in 1959. In 1963 Jim and Jean Phillips sold the funeral home in Comanche and moved their family to Holdenville where Jim entered a partnership with Doug Hudson which began the Hudson-Phillips Funeral Home. It was this move that would plant roots in this community which continue to produce fruit to this day.

In 1976, Blayne’s grandparents, Dennis and Debbie Phillips moved back to the area to help manage the funeral homes in Holdenville and Wewoka, which they still own and operate today. Both Dennis and Gary Phillips graduated from Holdenville High School. And Blayne’s uncle Gary recently finished his last term as District 1 Hughes County Commissioner.

Blayne’s parents, Brad and Angie (Phillips) Norman both attended and graduated from Wewoka High School before getting married. Today Brad is the funeral director for the family business and Angie works for Holdenville Schools in the Superintendent’s office.

Blayne was born in 1995 and attended Holdenville Public Schools for his first six years before transferring to Seminole Public Schools where he would graduate in 2014.

Following graduation from high school, Blayne earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting in 2018 from the University of Oklahoma. Only three short years later, in 2021, Blayne earned his law degree from OCU.

From 2015 to 2018, Norman worked as a financial assistant for the OU provost office before accepting an internship with Warhawk Legal, where he worked until February of 2019. After a short summer job with Bancfirst, Blayne accepted a position with Early Settlement Mediation as their mediator and office administrator. In April of 2021, he went to work for Gilchrist Aviation Law where he stayed until February of 2022 when he was hired by the Seminole County District Attorney’s office. After making the move from Seminole to Hughes County, Blayne’s brother-in-law, Christropher Hauger was hired to to fill his shoes as Assistant District Attorney along with Candice Irby in Seminole County at the Wewoka office.

Blayne’s new boss, newly elected District Attorney for District 22, Erik Johnson said, “Blayne is a great young prosecutor and I feel blessed to have his skill set in my Hughes County office. He is highly organized, has a great court room presence and has significant ties to the Hughes County. I welcome the opportunity to work with him and assist him in becoming a fierce courtroom advocate for victims in Hughes County. Blayne was schooled in both Seminole and Holdenville schools and has embraced the opportunity to return to Hughes County to staff my DA office in Holdenville. He possesses a great combination of empathy, willingness to serve the public, and desire to protect the rights of crime victims. I welcome the opportunity to witness his continuing development as a first line prosecutor.”

Blayne wants the citizens of this county to know, “As an Assistant District Attorney for Hughes County, I will strive to be a service-minded seeker of justice to ensure victims are advocated for and their rights are upheld, crimes are fairly and honestly prosecuted, and to represent the Hughes County District Attorney’s office with honor, kindness, and passion. God bless Holdenville.”