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.

JAMES PRICE WALLACE

James Price WallaceWallace, 89, of Austin, died April 17, 2017. After serving in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1948, he received his law degree from the University of Houston College of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1957. Wallace worked in private practice in Houston from 1957 to 1975 and served as the state senator for District 6 from 1971 to 1974, having been senate president pro tempore for the 63rd Legislature and Texas Governor for a Day on September 7, 1974. He was judge of the 215th District Court in Harris County from 1975 to 1978; an associate justice on the 1st Court of Appeals in Houston from 1978 to 1980; an associate justice on the Texas Supreme Court from 1981 to 1988; and an attorney with Soules & Wallace in Austin from 1988 until his retirement. From 1992 to 1993, Wallace served on the Texas Railroad Commission. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Martha; son, attorney James Jr.; daughter, attorney Jill; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.


NEILYN GRIGGS MALONEY

Neilyn Griggs MaloneyMaloney, 87, of Austin, died March 2, 2017. She received her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1967. Maloney worked for Stayton, Maloney, Hearne and Babb and was then a senior attorney for the Texas Department of State Health Services from 1970 until her retirement in 1990. She served on the Juvenile Board of the Travis County Citizens Advisory Committee, performed legal and humanitarian work for Austin area kidney and dialysis organizations, and supported the Amarillo Children’s Home. Maloney is remembered for her passion for horses, dogs, and cats and her love of reading, history, science, and law.


MELINDA DOREEN TUCKER

Melinda Doreen TuckerTucker, 60, of San Antonio, died January 17, 2017. She received her law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1991. Tucker was an assistant city attorney for San Antonio from 1991 to 2002 and a hearing officer for the Texas Workforce Commission in San Antonio from 2002 until her death. Tucker is remembered for her passion for national politics, great sense of humor, and love of cooking. She is survived by her brother, Michael.


THOMAS AYLMER DWYER McNEESE

Thomas Dwyer McNeeseMcNeese, 76, of Houston, died March 14, 2017. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1965. McNeese was an attorney with Fulbright, Crooker, Freeman, Bates & Jaworski, now Norton Rose Fulbright, where he headed the firm’s Mexico desk, eventually learning Spanish and receiving an additional law degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He became one of the first foreign-born attorneys licensed to practice law in Mexico after petitioning the country’s Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. McNeese was an attorney with Bremer, Quintana, Vaca, Rocha, Obregón & Mancera; a partner in Goodrich, Dalton, Little & Riquelme; and founded his own firm Sesma, Sesma & McNeese. He also served on the board of several multinational companies, worked for the U.S. government, and was president of the American Benevolent Society in Mexico City. McNeese is remembered for being an extraordinary father, husband, grandfather, and human being. He is survived by his wife of nearly 48 years, Nancy Ellen Dalton McNeese; son, Thomas Aylmer Dwyer McNeese II; sister, Margaret Carter McNeese; and one grandson.


RICHARD EMORY McGARY

Richard Emory McGaryMcGary, 61, of Richardson, died October 9, 2015. He received his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1985. McGary spent over 25 years handling complex litigation and as national counsel for several major consumer electronics manufacturers, advising clients on issues of product liability, consumer product safety, and risk management. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas Insurance Law and Litigation sections, the Dallas Bar Association, and the International Association of Arson Investigators. He is remembered for being an avid fly fisherman, collecting and enjoying art and wine, and cooking and blogging about gourmet food. McGary is survived by his wife of eight years, Elia Hernandez McGary; sons, Robert Thaddeus, Richard Emory, Matthew Everett, and Daniel Evan; daughter, Laura Elizabeth; father, Lester Eugene McGary Jr.; and brothers, Lester Eugene McGary III and John Edward McGary.


CHARLES MARK STYRON

Charles StyronStyron, 54, of Plano, died December 19, 2016. He received his law degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2012. After college, Styron joined the Dallas Police Department, and in 1987, he was named a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, working in the Dallas Field Division for 14 years. He became fluent in Spanish and completed U.S. Army Ranger School before taking overseas assignments in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Belize, and Colombia as a group supervisor of the Heroin Task Force. Following his return to Dallas in 2008, Styron served as a group supervisor and then operational commander for the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, an inspector with the Office of Professional Responsibility, and assistant special agent in charge at the Dallas Field Division. He is remembered for his devotion to God and his family and for his love of cycling, skiing, and hiking. Styron is survived by his wife of 29 years, Christine; son, John; daughters, Alison and Sydney; and sisters, Deborah Styron, Geri Rosendahl, and Kimberly Estes.


ROBERT JAMES FORD

Robert James FordFord, 53, of San Antonio, died December 27, 2016. He received his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1997. Ford was an attorney with Alworth & Ford from 1997 to 2004 and with Ford & Laurel from 2007 until his death. He is remembered for his kindness and love of fishing. Ford’s children were his world. He is survived by his wife, attorney Sandra Laurel Ford; sons, Jarvis and Zach; mother, Patricia; and sisters, Kathy Larson, Jackie Pfeifer, Mary Beth Hintz, Peggy Rumping, and Patty Starr.


MASSIE TILLMAN

Massie TillmanTillman, 79, of Fort Worth, died December 25, 2016. He received his law degree from Baylor Law School and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1961. Tillman was a trial lawyer for 26 years, representing clients on both sides of the docket and publishing a book, Tillman’s Trial Guide, on torts and compensation law in Texas. He later served as judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division for 14 years; started a mediation and arbitration business in Fort Worth; was certified as a hearing examiner for the Texas Education Agency; and presided over numerous condemnation cases as a special commissioner for Tarrant County, including some that paved the way for the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, now called AT&T Stadium, in Arlington. Tillman was a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, a founding member of both the Fort Worth Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Tarrant County Trial Lawyers Association, and a member of the Tarrant County Bar Association. He is survived by his wife of 23 years, Karen; son, Jeff; daughter, Holly Cornelius; and brother, Joe.


VINCENT F. EWELL JR.

Vincent EwellEwell, 74, of Evergreen, Colorado, died April 13, 2017. He served in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969. Ewell received his law degree from Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary, was a member of the Virginia Bar, and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1989. He was general counsel to Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., now Newport News Shipbuilding; vice president and assistant general counsel to the company’s then-parent corporation Tenneco in Houston; and vice president and general counsel to Tenneco Energy until his retirement in 1996 when it merged with El Paso Energy Corp. Ewell spent his final years in London, England, and Evergreen, traveling extensively, taking classes in a broad range of subjects, and always striving to improve his understanding of the world and the people in it. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, attorney Margaret.


ROBERT W. AMIS

Robert AmisAmis, 80, of Dallas, died February 25, 2017. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, was a member of the Oklahoma Bar, and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1962. For 30 years, Amis practiced law in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, primarily as a civil trial lawyer. He handled a variety of civil cases as a solo practitioner, associate, and partner in firms both large and small, including Pierce, Couch, Hendrickson, Johnston & Baysinger, now Pierce, Couch, Hendrickson, Baysinger & Green; Reynolds & Ridings; and Garrett, Pool, Amis, & Coldiron. Over his career, Amis served as the assistant county attorney of Denton County, Lewisville city judge, and an adjunct professor of commercial law at Oklahoma City University School of Law. In 1995, Amis relocated his practice to Collin and Dallas counties where he worked until retirement. His mentoring instructed and inspired many legal interns and influenced three family members to enter the profession. Amis is remembered for his cheerful love of his clients and fellow advocates and his lifelong passion for good music, which included skill at several instruments and an outstanding voice in all forms from church choirs to folk music. He is survived by his wife, attorney Dorothy “Sissie” Johnston Amis; daughters, Sharon “Astra” White, attorney Cynthia Franklin, and Marilyn Chladil; brother, attorney Mike; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.


BRUCE HUGHES

Bruce HughesHughes, 79, of Austin, died April 10, 2017. He received his law degree from Baylor Law School and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1963. Hughes started his legal career working for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in Austin; served as assistant secretary of state from 1973 to 1976; was a tax manager for Alyeska Pipeline Corporation from 1976 to 1978; and was a tax manager for Tenneco and then a public relations representative for Gulf Oil from 1978 to 1982. He moved into private practice in 1982, where he specialized in family law until 2003. After retiring from law full time, Hughes volunteered his legal services to CASA of Travis County, representing abused and neglected children. He is remembered for his lifelong love of the outdoors and for being an outspoken and easygoing companion with a sardonic sense of humor and indomitable presence. Hughes is survived by his ex-wife, Constance; sons, John Bruce Hughes Jr. and Christopher Archer Hughes; daughter, Holly Hughes Salinas; five grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.TBJ

{Back to top}

We use cookies to analyze our traffic and enhance functionality. More Information agree