Walter Edgar Brock was born in Wadesboro, North Carolina, on December 23, 1882. A Wake Forest graduate, Brock served as solicitor for the 13th district from 1914 until he was appointed a Superior Court judge by Gov. Cameron Morrison in 1921. The following year, he lost the election for the judgeship and spent the remainder of his law career with the firm Graves, Brock and Graves in Winston-Salem. He also served as a state legislator. Brock died in New Orleans on February 21, 1940.