The Hon. Rufus Adcock passed away Jan. 15, 2026. After beginning his career as a prosecutor in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in 1960, he served as judge of the 297th Criminal District Court, chief prosecutor for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, and then in 1986, was appointed to the newly created County Criminal Court No. 6, where he served until his retirement in December 1998.
Dudley McCalla passed away on March 29, 2026. A double Longhorn and Navy veteran, McCalla’s successful career in public law started with the Office of the Attorney General and included many years in private practice. He authored “Texas Administrative Law” and received the Trial Lifetime Achievement Award by the Administrative Law and Public Law section of the Texas State Bar.
William Howard Wolf Sr. passed away on April 11, 2025. Howard, a double Longhorn, served in the military following law school before spending over four decades of his career with the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski.
Harry Charles Dishman Jr. passed away Feb. 18, 2025. A double Longhorn who had a bachelor’s degree in business administration/accounting, Dishman was a skillful salesman of luxury goods for Tiffany’s, Cartier, and Gump’s.
James Coffee passed away on Jan. 7, 2025. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Coffee was deputy general counsel at Atlantic Richfield Company from 1973 until his retirement in 1998.
Robert “Bob” Barnes Thornton passed away Nov. 22, 2024. Thornton co-founded the firm Thornton & Summers in San Antonio, which later became Thornton, Biechlin, Reynolds and Guerra with additional offices in Houston, Austin, Corpus Christi and McAllen.
Erton Frank Tate passed away Nov. 14, 2024. Tate, who practiced both law and accounting throughout his career, spent more than 50 years helping clients at Tate, Gowan & Wilson and its predecessors.
Richard Grainger passed away on Nov. 1, 2024. Grainger practiced law for over six decades in East Texas originally with the Ramey firm, then later focusing on mediation in the areas of infringement and personal injury. Grainger served the legal community in many leadership roles including president of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, the International Defense Lawyers Association, and the Eastern District of Texas Bar Association. He also was a member of the Texas Law Dean’s Roundtable of distinguished alumni and attorney advisor to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Charles Hlavinka passed away on June 23, 2024. Hlavinka practiced tax law for more than 50 years, serving Texarkana and the surrounding area. He also served his community with roles in many organizations.
Jack Maroney II passed away on May 18, 2024. A United States Marine Corps veteran, was the last survivor of the Marine Detachment that served on the USS Enterprise (“Big E”) during WWII. Maroney completed law school after the war and worked for multiple law firms over a 50-year career.
John Kenneth Vinson passed away on Oct. 22, 2023. In addition to teaching at the University of Mississippi Law School and Florida State University Law School, Vinson authored many law review articles and a book titled “The Case Against the Law.”
Horace Coke Wilson Jr. passed away Oct. 31, 2023. Wilson was a partner at Pravel, Wilson and Gambrell and additionally served as a law professor at both Texas Law and the University of Houston Law Center.
James “Jim” Smith passed away on April 24, 2023. Smith became Chief Capital Prosecutor for criminal court in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, then spent the rest of his 50-year career in private practice litigation.
Paul H. Brunette passed away on March 29, 2023. A U.S. Navy veteran, he enjoyed a lengthy legal career that spanned more than 50 years. Brunette was employed by the Wichita County Attorney as an assistant prosecutor before transitioning into private practice.
Charles Renfro Slone passed away on March 13, 2023. Slone practiced law in Richmond, Texas, until his retirement in 2017, with an emphasis on real estate, wills, trusts, and probate.
James Hal Byrd passed away on Dec. 27, 2022. A double Longhorn, Byrd served as general counsel at Century Development before moving on to start his own law firm, practicing law in Houston for many years until his retirement.
Patrick “Pat” A. Myers passed away on Nov. 29, 2021. After serving his country in the U.S. Air Force in Germany, Myers completed law school. He returned to Jacksboro, Texas in 1960 where he was elected Jack County Attorney, a post he held for over two decades. Pat had interests in oil, gas and real estate but his profession was the law. He actively practiced in Jacksboro for almost 60 years until his (semi) retirement in 2018.
James F. Gilbert, passed away on Aug. 27, 2021 at age 89. He has resided in Dallas for 60 years. For most of his career, Gilbert practiced with the law firm of Kilgore & Kilgore, where he specialized in corporate and securities law. He proudly served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956 with the rank of 1st Lieutenant where he was stationed in Germany.
Frank Wayne Calhoun, age 88, died April 24, 2021 in Austin, TX. Calhoun served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean Conflict from 1951-53. He began his legal career in 1959 with the firm of Lee Byrd and Guy Shaw which quickly expanded to become Byrd, Shaw, Weeks & Calhoun. He served as State Representative for Abilene (1967-75) and served as delegate to Texas’s Constitutional Convention in 1974. Calhoun was recruited by the Houston law firm of Liddell, Sapp, Zivley, Hill & LaBoon to serve Austin clients and finally moved to Austin to make it his permanent home.
Paul Herve Dionne died peacefully with his family by his side in Fort Stockton on Sept. 14, 2020. He received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1959. Dionne served in the US Army Counterintelligence Corps during the Korean War. He practiced Law in Fort Stockton for over 60 years in both private and community capacities. Upon retirement from general practice, he adopted the Pecos County State Bank as his “work family.” In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to the charity of your choice.
Thomas Alton Blakeley, Jr., a lifelong Dallas resident and attorney, died on March 31, 2020, at the age of 84. After graduation from Texas Law, Blakeley joined the practice of his father (T.A. Blakeley), his uncle (Alex Blakeley), and former U.S. Representative, Ralph Hall. A few years later, he began practicing with Robert C. Johnson, Sr. for 25 years. In addition to his civil trial practice, Blakeley was counsel for several Dallas cotton merchants including Reinhart, Inc., and, for several decades, H. Molsen, Co., owned by his best friend since elementary school, Heinz Henry Molsen, Jr.