BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Funeral services were held Monday for former Baldwin County Probate Judge Harry McLeod D'Olive, 86, who became widely known for innovations in government, community involvement, a smile and a handshake for all comers and his expertise with a fiddle.

D’Olive, a native of Bromley, died Friday at an area hospital.

He attended Baldwin County High School where he starred in football as a triple-threat runner, passer and kicker and was captain of the team his senior year. He later attended Spring Hill College and the University of Alabama.

He learned to play the fiddle at an early age and continued playing throughout his life with various groups, and at social and political functions across the state, which earned him the nickname "The Fiddlin' Judge" later in life.

He also performed with local recording artist Happy Wainwright and his "Kings of the Hillbillies" on the WKRG Radio Show in the 1950s. He called for several square dance clubs across the county during the late 50s and early 60s, and was an avid hunter and fisher.

He introduced the first airboat to the Delta in 1965 and was often called on to aid in the search and rescue of missing and stranded boaters. He was a charter member and former director of the Baldwin County Wildlife Federation.

He began his career in the probate office in 1952 as chief clerk and was elected Judge of Probate in 1964, where he served until his retirement in Oct. 1993. He was one of the longest serving elected officials in Baldwin County.

Some noted accomplishments during his tenure include the passage of local legislation making the probate Judge the ex-officio license commissioner, allowing automobile licenses to be purchased with one payment and by mail. His office was the first in the courthouse to become computerized making Baldwin a pioneer county through the state, which also laid the groundwork for the online services available today.

He introduced the concept of satellite courthouses by first opening tag offices in Fairhope and Foley. He was an active Shriner and Past Potentate of Abba Temple in Mobile, a member of the Spanish Fort Masonic Lodge No. 916, the Mobile York Rite and Scottish Rite Bodies and past president of the Baldwin County Shrine Club; was a past president of the Alabama Probate Judges Association and an honorary Life Member of the Baldwin County Bar Association.

He was recognized for his accomplishments in the Congressional Record of the 99th Session of the United States Congress in 1986, and was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Bay Minette. He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II.