William Flynn Jr., who served on the New York State Supreme Court and was a leader in the Western New York legal community, died Jan. 14 at Hospice Buffalo. He was 94.

Judge Flynn, an Amherst resident, was a graduate of Culver Military Academy, Canisius College and the University at Buffalo School of Law. He rode in the renowned Black Horse Troop at Culver, escorting President Herbert Hoover in Indianapolis and later taking part in the Chicago World's Fair, both in 1932.

He served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theatre in World War II and left the service as a major. Before becoming a judge, he was an attorney in Buffalo, practicing for many years with his father, also named William, in the Erie County Bank Building. They led a litigation firm specializing in plaintiff work.

Active in the profession, Flynn was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. He was a former president of the Bar Association of Erie County and the Trial Lawyers Association of Erie County and a former chairman of the Trial Lawyers Section, New York State Bar Association.

In 1971, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University at Buffalo Law School Alumni Association. In 1973, he was appointed to the New York State Court of Claims by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and subsequently assigned to state Supreme Court, where he served until 1986.

On the bench, the judge was known for taking time to explain his rulings, which benefited a generation of attorneys who appeared before him. His combination of knowledge, attention to detail and decency, coupled with a no-nonsense demeanor, garnered the respect of prosecutors, defense attorneys, fellow judges and, reportedly, many defendants.

According to his confidential law clerk, Arthur Ackerhalt, "Defendants felt like they would get a fair trial and, strange as it may sound, I think some even took a liking to him."

In retirement, one of Flynn's favorite activities for more than 10 years was as a volunteer religious instructor for 4th-grade students at his home parish, Christ the King. He also was a longstanding member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

He was a skilled amateur photographer who pursued his hobby with both an eye for composition and a meticulous mastery of technical details. He developed a thorough knowledge of cameras, doing his own black-and-white printing in a home darkroom. His photos and 16-mm movies captured the details of the 1950s and 60s, Buffalo winters and summers on the Canadian shore.

Flynn possessed a phenomenal recall of facts and events well into his 90s. He was known as a gifted storyteller, deighting his family and new circle of friends at Asbury Pointe, Getzville, where he and his wife moved in 2005, with tales of growing up during the Depression, action in the Philippines during World War II and the practice of law in the 1950s and 60.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Carolyn Taylor Flynn; two sons, William Flynn III of Dunedin, Fla., and Michael Taylor Flynn; a daughter, Barbara Carlton Flynn of Sydney, Australia; and a sister, Rosemary Flynn Lynch, of Wayne, Pa.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Jan. 22 at Christ the King Church, Snyder.