Peter Decker Jr., founder of The Decker Law Firm has a legacy as big as his heart. He founded the firm with the simple motto of “helping people.” He and his wife, Bess, were the force behind the mermaid as Norfolk’s mascot and icon. He was instrumental in the creation of Norfolk’s cruise ship terminal renamed in his honor – the Peter G. Decker Jr. Celebration Center, and he continues to help children in Norfolk through the Peter G. Decker Children’s Charity. That legacy is now even further recognized with the help of long-time friend and portrait artist, Ron Primm.
With friends of the firm and the Decker family in attendance, the new oil portrait of Decker was unveiled last Thursday. The life-sized portrait of such a dynamic person was no easy task to produce; as Martin Thomas of the firm makes clear, “as big a personality as Peter was on the outside, he was often even bigger than that with people who really knew him.”
Primm estimates that about 100 hours went into creating the 44 x 34’’ oil portrait, but admits that he effectively lost count. Being close to Peter for many years, Primm was able to capture much of Decker’s character as well as his likeness. “It was a challenging project – and almost like having Peter’s presence during the painting process, and now I kind of miss him in the studio,” Primm remarked after he unveiled the portrait.