Reavley was born in
Quitman,
Texas. He received a
Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Texas in 1942. While at the University of Texas, he was a member of the
Tejas Club. He was in the
United States Navy from 1942 to 1946. As a naval lieutenant, Reavley drove President
Franklin Roosevelt to Roosevelt’s meeting with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at the
Yalta Conference. After World War II, he received a
Juris Doctor from
Harvard Law School in 1948. He later received a
Master of Laws from the
University of Virginia School of Law in 1983. He was an assistant district attorney of
Dallas, Texas, from 1948 to 1949. He was in private practice of law in
Nacogdoches, Texas from 1949 to 1951. He was a county attorney of
Nacogdoches County, Texas in 1951. He was in private practice of law in
Lufkin, Texas from 1951 to 1952. He was in private practice of law in
Jasper, Texas from 1952 to 1955. He was
Texas Secretary of State from 1955 to 1957. He was in private practice of law in
Austin, Texas from 1957 to 1964. He was a Judge of the 167 Judicial District in Austin, Texas from 1964 to 1968. He was a justice of the
Supreme Court of Texas from 1968 to 1977. He was in private practice of law in Austin from 1977 to 1979. He was a Special Judge of the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1978. ==Federal judicial service==