Memorials
Submit a memorial at texasbar.com/memorials or call (512) 427-1830. For information on closing a deceased attorney’s practice, go to www.texasbarcle.com/materials/closingapractice.html.
RAY RENNER
Renner, 92, of Austin, died December 15,
2016. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1948. He was an attorney in the
office of Carl Rountree in Lamesa, which later became Rountree, Renner
& Snell; Renner & Snell; and then Renner, Snell &
Schildknecht. Renner practiced law in Lamesa until his retirement in
2002. He was a founding board member and president of the Canadian River
Municipal Water Authority, having served on the board for more than 54
years; served as president of the Dawson County Bar Association; and was
on the council of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the
State Bar of Texas. Renner was an elder and taught Sunday school at
First Presbyterian Church in Lamesa. He is survived by his wife of 66
years, Cathy; sons, attorney Dan and Carl; daughter, Nancy; four
grandsons; and two great-granddaughters.
JAMES H. LAUDERDALE
Lauderdale, 85, of McAllen, died
November 9, 2016. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he received his
law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted
to the Texas Bar in 1959. Lauderdale spent his legal career with
Lauderdale & Bowe; Lauderdale & Hockema; Smith, McIlheran,
Lauderdale & Jones; and the Law Office of James H. Lauderdale. He
also served as general counsel to Rio Farms Inc., was a municipal judge
for the city of Mercedes, and served on the school board of the Mercedes
Independent School District. Lauderdale is survived by his son, James
Jr.; daughter, attorney Sara L. Tippit; sister, Laura Nell Cluett; and
five grandchildren.
LILY JEAN WALLACE
Wallace, 65, of Austin, died
November 23, 2016. She received her law degree from Texas Tech
University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1976.
Wallace was an assistant county attorney in the Midland County
Attorney’s Office from 1976 to 1979; a student attorney at Texas Tech
from 1979 to 1990; and an attorney with the Texas Department of Family
and Protective Services in Austin from 1991 to 2010. She is remembered
for her lifelong love of owning, raising, and rescuing Irish Setters;
collecting and studying fashion from the 19th and 20th centuries; and
for being a loyal Texas Tech Red Raiders and Dallas Cowboys football fan
who thought no one said it quite like Molly Ivins. Wallace is survived
by her sister, Rebecca.
HUME COFER
Cofer, 93, of Austin, died November 13,
2016. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946. Cofer received his
law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted
to the Texas Bar in 1949. He practiced with Cofer & Cofer in Austin
from 1949 to 1976, served as judge of the 98th District Court from 1976
to 1988, and was a senior district judge in 12 counties from 1988 to
2001. Cofer was president of the Travis County Bar Association, now the
Austin Bar Association, in 1969-1970, served on several State Bar of
Texas committees regarding judicial ethics, as well as committees
revising the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and the Texas Penal Code.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Carol McGlothlin Williamson
Cofer; sons, George H. Cofer Jr. and William F. Cofer; stepson, Charles
W. Williamson; two grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
EDWARD P. FAHEY
Fahey, 90, of San Antonio, died January
12, 2014. He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946, later received
his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law, and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1951. Fahey worked at the law firm of Carl
Wright Johnson from 1951 to 1961, practiced in partnership with Robert
L. Strickland from 1961 to 1962, and was an attorney and eventual
partner in Groce & Hebdon, later Groce, Hebdon, Fahey & Smith
and then Groce, Locke & Hebdon, from 1963 until his retirement. He
was a founding member of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel,
belonged to the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel and American
College of Trial Lawyers, and was a member of a grievance committee in
San Antonio for the State Bar of Texas. Fahey is remembered for his love
of playing blackjack and tennis, spending time at his lake house in
northern Wisconsin, and for his nickname around the Bexar County
Courthouse, “the Silver Fox.” He is survived by his sons, Patrick M.
Fahey and attorney Edward Fahey Jr.; brothers, Robert John Fahey and
Richard A. Fahey; sister, Dorothea Jones; two grandchildren; and one
great-grandchild.
CHARLES “CHUCK” E. KLEIN
Klein, 59, of Dallas, died September 18,
2016. He received his law degree from Texas Tech University School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1987. Klein practiced
commercial real estate law for nearly 30 years at McGilvra & Klein
and then the Klein Law Firm in Dallas. He is remembered for his love of
playing golf. Klein is survived by his daughters, Katherine, Kelly, and
Michelle.
THOMAS BOWMAN BLACK
Black, 88, of San Antonio, died
September 18, 2016. He received his law degree from the University of
Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1952. Black was
an assistant attorney general in Texas from 1952 to 1955 and from 1973
to 1974 and had a private practice from 1955 to 1974. He was president
of the Travis County Bar Association, the first chairman of the Austin
Human Relations Commission, now Human Rights Commission, and served on
the St. Mary’s University School of Law faculty from 1974 to 1988. He
wanted the final words of his obituary to be: “In a world of doubt and
cynicism, he remained steadfastly loyal to the music and memory of Bix
Beiderbecke and to the New York Yankees baseball team, and he was proud
to be a lifelong liberal Democrat.” Black is survived by his wife of 44
years, Mary Ann Black; son, Thomas Woodruff Black; daughters, Lucy Ann
Black and Lisa Alzada Coulter; three grandchildren; and five
great-grandchildren.
ALBERT BECKWITH SANBORN II
Sanborn, 66, of Eagle Point, Oregon,
died October 26, 2016. He received his law degree from Lewis & Clark
Law School, was a member of the Oregon and Indiana bars, and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1984. Sanborn was a deputy city attorney
for the city of Beaverton, Oregon, in 1981; a corporate attorney for the
Legacy Health System in Portland from 1981 to 1984; general counsel to
Harris Methodist Health in Fort Worth from 1984 to 1985; legal counsel
to Holy Cross Health System in South Bend, Indiana, from 1985 to 1990;
general counsel to St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston from 1990 to
1993; and founded a solo practice in Portland, where he worked from 1993
to 2005. He was managing attorney of the Health Law Project for Texas
Legal Services Center in Austin from 2005 to 2007 and director of the
State Health Information and Assistance Program in the Texas Department
of Aging and Disability Services from 2007 to 2010. Sanborn was an
instructor and assistant professor of health care law and business law
at the University of Notre Dame from 1987 to 1990 and gave guest
lectures at many universities and organizations, including South Texas
College of Law Houston and the Texas Hospital Association. He is
remembered for his dedication to his community, including his
involvement in Food & Friends with Meals on Wheels, the Oregon
Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, and the Eagle Point Food Project,
which he co-founded. Sanborn is survived by his partner of 11 years,
Valerie Taylor-Crow; sons, Jake and Sam; and sister, Nancy.
THOMAS “WAYNE” HANCOCK
Hancock, 94, of Dallas, died
May 10, 2015. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1942 to 1945.
Hancock received his law degree from the University of Texas School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1950. He was an assistant
district attorney in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office from
1950 to 1955, an attorney with Norsworthy Oil Company from 1955 to 1961,
and opened and ran a private practice from 1961 to 2013. Hancock is
remembered for his love of his family and interest in history and oil
exploration. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Doris; daughters,
Jan Hancock Wooldridge and Jean Hancock Eye; and two grandchildren.
BRIAN PATRICK “PAT” SHAW
Shaw, 73, of Dallas, died January
1, 2017. He served in the U.S. Army during the 1960s and was stationed
in Korea. Shaw received his law degree from Baylor Law School and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1972. He was an associate and eventual
partner in Shank Irwin Conant & Williamson in Dallas from 1972 to
1978; worked for A.G. Hill from 1978 to 1984; and was a partner in
Woodward & Shaw with his longtime friend John Woodward from 1984
until his death. Shaw was certified in oil, gas and mineral law by the
Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He was a true people person, a
loyal friend, and enjoyed spending time in Taos, New Mexico, traveling
and painting. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Hilary; son,
attorney Brian; daughters, Mary Cox and Ainslie Barnard; brother
William; and four grandchildren.
JOSEPH W. COLVIN
Colvin, 78, of Fort Worth, died March
18, 2016. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1964. Colvin practiced
bankruptcy law for over 50 years in Fort Worth and was a partner in
Gilbert & Colvin and then a partner in Colvin & Petrocchi. He
served as president of the Tarrant County Bar Association in 1989-1990.
Colvin was devoted to both his family and the law. He is remembered for
enjoying genealogy, working on the family farm, and participating in
LegalLine. Colvin is survived by his wife of 55 years, Harriet; sons,
Joe, Peter, Tom, and Henry; daughter, Rose Unkefer; sisters, Ann, Adele
Dufilho, and Susan Tischendorf; 12 grandchildren, two of whom are
attorneys; and six great-grandchildren.
ARNOLD S. COHN
Cohn, 75, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
died June 1, 2016. He received his law degree from South Texas College
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1974. Cohn spent his legal
career practicing out of Arnold S. Cohn & Associates in Harris
County and was a member of the Harris and Fort Bend County bar
associations before retiring. He is remembered for his love of playing
bridge, umpiring baseball games, and playing golf. Cohn is survived by
his wife of 45 years, Charlotte; son, Charles; daughter, Cheryl Cohn
Householder; brother, Irving; sisters, Susan LaCroix and Helen Leek; and
six grandchildren.TBJ
