Willard Kent Johnson passed away June 4, 2023. In addition to his work as an attorney for two state agencies — the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation then later the Employees Retirement Systems of Texas — Johnson was a football referee for 45 years.
Lee Otis “Otie” Zapp Jr. passed away June 6, 2023. He served as president of Zapp Realty Property Management and Insurance from 1960 until his retirement and received numerous accolades for his accomplishments and service to his community.
Joseph Weaver Russell passed away June 2, 2023. A double Longhorn who served two years in the U.S. Army, he started his legal career as a briefing attorney for Texas Supreme Court justices. Russell went on to work at law firms in Corpus Christi and San Antonio before before forming his own firm in 1993, eventually practicing with his son.
Charles K. Bluntzer passed away on May 27, 2023. After receiving the Purple Heart for his service in the U.S. Army First Cavalry Division in Vietnam, Bluntzer began his career in municipal law in multiple Texas cities. In 1984, he entered private practice where he continued for more than three decades until retiring.
Russell Winfield Schell has passed away. After serving as a partner at Thomson Coe and heading the litigation division at Riddle & Brown, Schell founded his own law firm in 1992 and enjoyed a successful career as a trial lawyer.
Dianne Shank Brode passed away on May 26, 2023. Brode began her law career at Shapiro, Edens and Cook as one of only three female attorneys before successfully initiating a joint venture, Techline Inc., with her husband.
Victor Michael Firth passed away on May 17, 2023. After working for law firms in Oklahoma City and El Paso, Firth founded his own law firm, which eventually became Firth, Bunn, Kerr, Neill, P.C. In addition to his successful career in real estate law, Firth officiated college football games for many years.
Adele B. Simpson passed away on April 26, 2023. One of two women in her graduating law school class, Simpson’s legal career spanned numerous cities and positions in Texas, including an appointment as the first municipal court judge in the City of Huntsville.
Lisa McDaniel Crane passed away on May 15, 2023. She enjoyed a successful career as an attorney and real estate developer. She joined her husband Les as a partner in the ownership of Longhorn Dental, a business they worked together to build and expand.
Jeffrey Van Horn passed away on May 6, 2023. A double Longhorn, he was appointed as the first criminal district attorney for Caldwell County before serving as the state prosecuting attorney until his retirement.
John Wooddell passed away on April 23, 2023. Wooddell, who served in the United States Army Special Forces as a Green Beret, enjoyed a successful law career as a trial attorney in Texas.
Justin T. Sigman passed away on Oct. 26, 2022. He spent the majority of his career overseas, where he managed the construction of schools, hospitals, and bridges in war zones such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Sigman was additionally instrumental in writing the constitution for the Southern Sudan.
The Honorable Horace Ronald “Ron” Poole passed away on May 8, 2023. He was elected District Court Judge for Douglas County (ore.) and soon became a Douglas County Circuit Court Judge in 1984. Poole was one of the longest-serving circuit court judges in Oregon at the time of his retirement in 2013.
Frank Ryon Monroe passed away on May 8, 2023. Monroe spent two decades with Sheinfeld, Maley and Kay as a bankruptcy attorney and managing partner, then was appointed as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Texas, and serving 20 years in Austin in that role.
Joseph Robert “Bob” Schneider Sr. passed away on May 3, 2023. A double Longhorn, Schneider started his legal career practicing with his father at Schneider and Schneider. After the death of his father, the firm name was changed to Schneider & McWilliams and Schneider spent his legal career focusing on oil and gas, estate planning, real estate, and probate. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the State Bar and the Board of Trustees of the Texas Bar Foundation.
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.
Randolph Wheless Jr. passed away on May 5, 2023. A double Longhorn and Army veteran, Wheless started his career as an assistant district attorney. After working in private practice, Wheless was appointed federal bankruptcy judge for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Southern District of Texas in 1985. He later became chief bankruptcy judge.
Barney Young passed away on May 2, 2023. Young founded Rain Harrell Emery Young and Doke, a predecessor of Locke Lord LLP. He focused on corporate and securities law and remained active in mentorship and nonprofit work throughout his illustrious legal career.
Bill Sherbert passed away on April 19, 2023. Sherbert opened his own law firm in Houston – Sherbert & Campbell – specializing in personal injury cases. He enjoyed a legal career that spanned 50 years.
Kristi Gamble passed away on March 9, 2023. She began her career at Rudolph and Beers before starting her own law firm with Adam Kaplan. She then worked for the City of New York and later joined the New York Federal Reserve Bank, where she was the assistant general counsel.
Prentis Otis Hibler passed away on April 20, 2023. Hibler opened his own civil litigation practice and spent 50 years representing a range of clients. He also served as Mayor of Hill Country Village, a city near San Antonio, Texas.
Robert Cole Grable passed away on April 20, 2023. Texas Law’s Grand Chancellor in the fall of 1971, Grable served in the Navy JAG Corps after getting his law degree. He then practiced law in Austin, where he developed a specialty in oil, gas and mineral law. Grable co-founded the Kelly Hart & Hallman law firm in 1979 and served as the longtime chair of the firm’s Oil and Gas section.
Robert D. Forrester passed away on April 18, 2023. A double Longhorn, he wrote extensively in the areas of probate, intestacy, and tax law over his five decades of practicing law. Forrester retired from Peterson, Farris, Pruitt & Parker where he was of counsel.
Thomas Joseph Brorby passed away on April 13, 2023. An Army veteran, he founded two different law firms, most recently Brorby, Crozier & Dobie law firm in Austin in 1993. Brorby focused on tax law and notably served as tax counsel in State Bar of Texas v. U.S., a lawsuit establishing the tax-exempt status of the Texas Bar.
Edmond Moreland Jr. passed away on April 4, 2023. Moreland began his own law practice in 2000 and founded the Moreland Verrett, P.C. law firm in 2013. He specialized in labor and employment law and was recognized many times on The Best Lawyers in America list for his work.
Allan Graber passed away on April 15, 2023. A double Longhorn, Graber had a 60-year career as an attorney and CPA and worked in his own private practice for more than 40 years.
James Warren “JW” Gary passed away on March 30, 2023. Gary served in the U.S. Marine Corps before beginning a law career that spanned 50 years. He spent the majority of his career with the Gary, Thomasson, Hall & Marks law firm and specialized in public school law.
Stanley “Todd” Lowry passed away on April 10, 2023. A double Longhorn, Lowry enjoyed a lengthy academic career and served as an economics professor at Washington and Lee University for more than 35 years until his retirement in 1995.
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.
Michael McConnell passed away on March 25, 2023. A U.S. Air Force veteran, McConnell enjoyed a long career practicing bankruptcy law and was a partner in several law firms, finishing his career as Chairman of Kelly Hart & Hallman’s Reorganization and Bankruptcy practice. He also served three years as a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the Northern District of Texas.
William F. Young passed away on March 20, 2023. A double Longhorn, Young was an accomplished academic, serving as a professor at Columbia Law and a visiting professor at Harvard, Duke, Stanford, SMU, Wake Forest, the University of Georgia, and his alma mater.
David H. Burrow passed away on March 10, 2023. Burrow was an accomplished trial lawyer for cases ranging from personal injury, products liability, and cases involving petroleum plants. Early in his career, he served as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate General (JAG).
Terrence Ponsford passed away on Feb. 3, 2023. After graduating from Texas Law, Ponsford joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a lawyer during the Vietnam War, then later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to practice business law.
Nancy Wilmeth has passed away. After spending two years in the Peace Corps, Wilmeth attending Texas Law, then worked in a legal position in East Texas. She later returned to UT to earn her master’s degree in social work before working as an elementary school counselor for many years.
John Anderson Gilliam passed away on March 4, 2023. Gilliam was head of the trial section at Jenkens & Gilchrist. While at Texas Law, he was on the Board of Editors of the Texas Law Review, and a member of both the Order of the Coif and Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity.
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.
David Robert Sorrell passed away on Feb. 19, 2023. Sorrell started his legal career as a trial lawyer before co-founding the firm Sorrell & Moak, where he remained until 1994. He went on to serve as an assistant district attorney for three different counties, with a stint as the patient’s attorney at Rusk State Hospital.
Richard G. Shook passed away on Feb. 11, 2023. Shook was an attorney for Prudential Insurance Company of America until he retired after 30 years of service.
William Rayford Price passed away on Feb. 21, 2023. He served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, before moving on to specialize in municipal law and found Rayford Price & Associates.
Timothy Lynn Brown passed away on Dec. 30, 2022. Brown served as head of the Environmental Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office before entering private practice in 1982, where he remained active in the practice of water law until 2019.
John B. Selman passed away on Feb. 18, 2023. Selman practiced law for 32 years with Sneed, Vine, Wilkerson, Selman and Perry and was actively involved in counseling for the following 15 years.
Scherry Ann Perkins Braziel passed away on Feb. 20, 2023. At the time Braziel was enrolled at Texas Law, she was one of just four women at the school. She went on to become the first female attorney in Titus County after founding Perkins & Perkins Law Firm with her father.
Jim Sales passed away on Feb. 11, 2023. A double Longhorn and a Marine veteran, Sales served as of counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright for 22 years.
John C. Meinrath passed away in February of 2023. Meinrath spent his career as an attorney, practicing in Austin and Dallas.
Anthony McGettrick passed away on Feb. 8, 2023. McGettrick worked for the City of Laredo – as assistant city attorney then city attorney – before his retirement in 2009.
John Gillett Sheppard, Sr. passed away on Feb. 4, 2023. Sheppard established his own firm Adams and Sheppard, where he practiced for more than 50 years.
Hollis Drake Leddy passed away in January 2023. Leddy was a partner at Arthur Anderson, president of USAA Real Estate, and founder and CEO of the Leddy Company and Presidian.
Harry Whittington passed away on Feb. 4, 2023. Whittington was an attorney and served on several government committees and commissions, such as the Texas Corrections Board, where he was instrumental in bringing reforms to the treatment of prisoners.
Alexander Bell passed away on Feb. 2, 2023. Bell was a professor at the University of Virginia Law School for eight years and a civil trial lawyer at Bell and Schneider for nearly 50 years.
The Honorable Robert Dale Jones passed away on Jan. 7, 2023. Jones, a double Longhorn, led a successful judicial career that included serving as a judge advocate general in the Marine Reserves and a senior district judge.