In 1911, Combs ran for clerk of the Russell County Circuit Court.
He served in the role throughout the early 1930s, except for a period of six months in 1938 when he was manager of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in Richmond.
He was re-elected as clerk successive terms and remained in the role until his death.
[1] In 1956, he traveled with Governor Thomas B. Stanley on a five-week tour of Europe to prepare for the 1957 Jamestown Festival.
They had two sons and five daughters, Carlton E., Earl B., Willie A., Bernice, Nancy, Mrs. Joseph A. Leslie Jr. and Mrs. Paul P. Spring.
He died following a heart attack on January 5, 1957, at Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond.