John D. Stover passed away on Jan. 4, 2026. After serving on the Texas Water Commission, he practiced law in Austin until 1997, representing businesses, industries, government organizations, and other clients in state and federal courts and before the Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and other forums. He also taught water law as an adjunct professor at Texas Law.
John Reilly passed away Nov. 29, 2025. An Air Force veteran, Reilly practiced oil and gas law in Houston for more than 50 years.
Charles W. Cappel passed away on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 2025. He began his career practicing admiralty law with the firm of Lillick McHose and, after 15 years, chose to become president of a small family oil company.
Frank Cooksey passed away on Dec. 15, 2025. A double Longhorn, Cooksey served as mayor of Austin from 1985 to 1988. He practiced law for more than 40 years, including roles as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, an assistant U.S. attorney, and special attorney general of Texas.
Stephen Gerard Utz passed away on Dec. 9, 2025. After Utz started his law career clerking for Judge Joseph T. Sneed of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, he practiced for three years as an associate at the tax law firm of Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C. He then became the Roger Sherman Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he taught tax law and policy for almost four decades.
Jack Eckels passed away on Nov. 7, 2025. He began his legal career with the Cox, Smith Law Firm in San Antonio, then joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Houston where he worked as a tax attorney for over 40 years.
Theodore Paul Bulmahn passed away Nov. 11, 2025. Bulmahn founded and served as CEO of ATP Oil and Gas Corporation in Houston, Texas, then went on to build and run GoldMark Farm, a premier property for racehorses.
Michael W. Wood passed away Nov. 18, 2025. After forming the boutique law firm Wood, Campbell, Moody & Gibb, he went on to serve as senior vice president and CEO of the water resources company Azurix, then was a partner at Jackson Walker in Houston.
Jiles David Richeson passed away on Nov. 20, 2025. After starting his career in Washington, D.C., as legal counsel for Congressman Jake Pickle, Richeson moved to Fort Pierce, Florida, where he established a successful law practice in the field of labor and employment law.
Peter William Low passed away on Oct. 18, 2025. After more than 20 years as a solo practitioner with a concentration on local property appraisal and tax law as well as public and administrative law, Low joined fellow property tax attorneys to form Low Swinney Evans & James in 2018.
The Honorable Thomas Bartlett Sehon Sr. passed away on Nov. 5, 2025. He served for nearly 20 years as the Falls County district attorney in Marlin, Texas, then successfully ran for county judge, retiring in 2007.
David Rodriguez passed away Oct. 25, 2025. A double Longhorn, he opened and ran his own law practice, the Law Office of David Rodriguez, in San Antonio.
Theodore Thomas “Ted” Hollen III passed away Oct. 13, 2025. Hollen, who pursued his passion for rodeo alongside his law career, worked in the political arena and opened a sole practitioner law firm. He received the 50-years recognition from the State Bar of Texas.
Stuart Alan Morse has passed away. He began his career as an attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission before returning to Texas, where he founded several law firms including Klein Morse; Kroney, Silverman, Mincey; and Kroney Morse Lan.
Charles Robert “Chuck” Helms passed away Nov. 2, 2025. Helms, who spent many years practicing law in Dallas alongside his friend and partner Paul Pesek, was president of his local Catholic lawyer’s guild and served as president-elect of the national Catholic Bar Association.
Timothy Allen “Tad” Dunn passed away Oct. 30, 2025. Following law school, Dunn worked for several law firms throughout his career, most recently with Messer Fort.
Herbert Edward Marsh Jr. passed away on March 7, 2025. For nearly six decades he practiced law as both a private practice attorney and Texas state judge.
Jeb McNew passed away on Oct. 17, 2025. A double Longhorn, he and his wife opened their own law practice, McNew & McNew in Nocona, Texas. He then was elected to serve as Montague County Attorney, a position he held for over two decades.
Manuel Almaguer passed away on Oct. 24, 2025. A double Longhorn, he served in the United States Air Force before spending five decades managing his own law firm until his retirement in 2020.
Donald Rorschach Sr. passed away on Oct. 9, 2025. He served as the assistant city attorney for Waco before becoming the city attorney for Irving, a position he held for over two decades.
Ronald Eugene Holub passed away on Oct. 10, 2023. Holub began his career at the former law firm Newman Shook & Newman and remained there until 1984 when he opened a solo practice.
Keith Clark Carter passed away on Sept. 16, 2025, at the age of 100. A POW and Purple Heart recipient for his service in World War II, Carter was a contracts supervisor for the Continental Oil Company in Houston before moving to the UT Austin Graduate School of Business, where he taught Business Law and Oil and Gas Law as well as while coordinating the Petroleum Land Management Program.
Laurier Bernard McDonald Jr. passed away on Oct. 10, 2025. McDonald served as a special agent with the FBI and as the United States Commissioner before the office was abolished.
Louis Dayne Miller passed away on Oct. 6, 2025. After spending many years in General Dynamics Corporation’s legal department, Miller started his own law practice in Graham, Texas, then served as the Young County attorney until his retirement.
Theodore Thomas Hollen III passed away on Oct. 13, 2025. He began his career at Pearson & Pearson in El Paso, Texas, before launching his independent law practice in Austin, Ted Hollen Attorney at Law. He retired in May of 2025.
James “Jim” Bertrand passed away on Sept. 29, 2025. Bertrand, who served in the Navy for two years before coming to Texas Law, eventually became a partner at Vinson & Elkins, where he worked for over 30 years.
Gary Truman passed away on July 13, 2025. He worked as an employment lawyer at Bradley Campbell Carney & Madsen before founding his own company, Gary Truman, LLC, and working as a landman for 15 years.
Stephen Lawrence Jenks passed away on August 8, 2025. He spent over 31 years with the FBI, working on many high-profile cases from the bureau’s Palo Alto office for the majority of his career.
Jerry Monroe Coleman passed away on Sept. 16, 2025. During his career included he was partner with the Austin office of the firm Long, Coleman, Dugger & Cotton, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Citizens National Bank of Austin, and a real estate developer.
Charles Taylor Gandy passed away Sept. 16, 2025. Gandy, a double Longhorn, served as mayor pro tem in Tarrant County, and was a certified specialist in probate and estate planning, a devoted philanthropist, and a real estate developer.
Thomas Hight Jr. passed away on August 19, 2025. He practiced law at the Dallas-based firm Hight and Hight for over two decades before ending his career as an administrative law judge for the state of Texas.
Senior U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks passed away on Sept. 17, 2025. His federal judicial career spanned over 30 years, becoming a senior judge in 2017 who presided over many of the most high-profile and consequential federal cases in Central Texas.
The Honorable Amy Martin passed away on Sept. 7, 2025. She served a four-year term on the bench of the 263rd District Court of Harris County before returning to private practice and eventually joining the University of Houston Law Center as the director of student advisement.
Will Paxton “Bill” Ellis passed away on Sept. 13, 2025. He established the law firm Ellis, Koeneke & Ramirez in 1982 and spent his legal career serving his clients in the estate planning and probate legal field in South Texas.
John Jackson (Jack) McClendon Jr. passed away on Sept. 11, 2025. He enjoyed a successful legal career than spanned over five decades and also served his community in Lubbock, Texas, by serving on or leading many boards and committees.
Parks Harding Stearns Jr. passed away on Sept. 11, 2025. He served in the FBI as a legal liaison for over 30 years before joining Unitrin and Kemper Insurance Investigation at the end of his distinguished career.
Sharon Kay Talley passed away on August 21, 2025. She served the Austin community for over 40 years—both in private practice and for the Travis County Attorney’s Office—specializing in the protection of victims of family violence, the environment, and animals.
Bennett “Ben” Wilson Cervin passed away on September 1, 2025. Cervin retired as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and also served in the Texas Air National Guard. An expert in labor and employment law, he was a senior partner, then of counsel, at Thompson & Knight.
Donald Patrick Dorsey passed away on August 12, 2025. His distinguished legal career as an attorney spanned nearly six decades, devoted to serving his community in Kerrville, Texas.
Christina Lynn Falkiewicz passed away on August 23, 2025. Falkiewicz helped families in the San Antonio area through her personal probate, estate planning and guardianship matters practice before joining UTSA as a guest lecturer.
Alistair Byrne Dawson passed away on August 30, 2025. A respected partner and trial attorney at Beck Redden, Dawson served as a president of the Houston Bar Association, chairman of the Texas Bar Foundation, fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Stephen “Steve” Edwards passed away on August 14, 2025. A double Longhorn, he practiced as an assistant district attorney in Travis County before entering private practice.
Samuel Tevis Grinstead passed away on August 9, 2025. A double Longhorn, he served as a partner at Vinson & Elkins in Houston for over three decades.
Albert W. Schorre Jr. passed away on August 6, 2025. After working as a partner at Stubbeman Mcrae law firm handling oil and gas litigation, he went on to serve as district attorney for West Texas from 1985 to 2007, and also chaired state drug policy and criminal justice advisory panels.
Edmunds Travis Jr. passed away August 1, 2025, just a year shy of his 100th birthday. An Army veteran, Travis went on to served as assistant attorney general of Texas before joining the legal department of Humble Oil and Refining Company. He then rose to the rank of chief attorney in Exxon’s Legal Department, Natural Gas Section.
Michael Joseph Whitten passed away on July 26, 2025. Whitten was a respected Denton attorney, earning recognition for his trial skill, mediation work, and dedication to pro bono service, while remaining deeply devoted to his family and community.
Gilbert Prud’homme passed away on May 24, 2024. An Austin attorney for six decades, he specialized in real estate law and estate/probate law and was known for community involvement and dedication to many charitable organizations.
Haskell H. Shelton passed away on August 1, 2025. Throughout his career, he served as an assistant U.S. prosecuting attorney, member of the U.S. Strike Force on Organized Crime, and in roles with Ford Motor Company and Dow Chemical, specializing in toxic tort litigation.
Charles William Bailey passed away on July 24, 2025. He spent the majority of his career as a plastic surgeon in private practice in Houston, served as president of the Texas Medical Association, and was honored alongside his father as the only father-son pair of physician-attorneys in the American College of Legal Medicine.
George William Wilhite passed away on July 22, 2025. A civil trial lawyer, he tried over 200 jury trials during a 65-year career, placing him among the top one percent of his peers. In addition to his leadership at Wilhite & Associates P.C., he served as of counsel for David Bryant Law Firm in Conroe, Texas, and raised Longhorn cattle at his ranch.