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.
Richard Alan Koenig
Koenig, 68, of Lubbock, died March 8,
2017. He received his law degree from Texas Tech University School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1992. Koenig was an assistant
district attorney in the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office from
1993 to 2001 and a staff attorney for Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas from
2001 to 2016. He was selected for membership in the Order of the Coif.
Koenig was a member of the Lubbock Area Bar Association and the Lubbock
County Women’s Bar Association and served as treasurer of the West Texas
Bankruptcy Bar Association. He attended Christ the King Cathedral and
served on the board of Christ the King Cathedral School. Koenig was
happiest when he was with family and liked to travel with them. He
enjoyed working in the yard, walking his dog, and studying science.
Koenig is survived by his wife of 42 years, Nancy; son, John “Jack”
Koenig; daughters, Lora King and Rebecca Koenig; mother, Alice Koenig;
and brothers, Dan, Philip, Wayne, Greg, Jerry, Matthew, Alan, and Tim
Koenig.
James A. Rindfuss
Rindfuss, 80, of San Antonio, died
August 15, 2017. He was in the Texas National Guard from 1964 to 1966.
Rindfuss received his law degree from the University of Houston Law
Center and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1965. He was in private
practice from 1968 to 2017. Rindfuss served on the Alamo Colleges
District Board of Trustees for 21 years. He enjoyed gardening and
woodworking. Rindfuss is survived by his wife of nine years, Jean Marie
Kane; sons, John Allen Rindfuss and Bryan Clark Rindfuss; and sisters,
Shirley Everhard and Jane Rogers.
Richard Paul “Dick”
Bogatto
Bogatto, 82, of Houston, died April
10, 2017. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1958. Bogatto served in the
U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1959 to 1960. He was a
partner in Fulbright & Jaworski, now Norton Rose Fulbright, from
1961 to 1999. In law school, Bogatto was honored as a member of the
Order of the Coif and the Chancellors. He was associate editor of the
Texas Law Review. Bogatto is remembered for his love of his
family and spending time hunting and fishing. He is survived by his wife
of 59 years, Frances “Moratto” Bogatto; sons, attorney Barron Bogatto
and Richard Bogatto; daughter, Leslie Hemenway; and four grandchildren.
James R. Eissinger
Eissinger, 78, of Lubbock, died July
13, 2017. He was in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps
from 1964 to 1968. Eissinger received his law degree from the University
of North Dakota School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1974.
He worked as an attorney at Lyman Brink Law Firm in Hallock, Minnesota;
as an attorney with the North Dakota Attorney General’s Law Enforcement
Council in Bismarck, North Dakota, from 1968 to 1971; as a member of the
faculty at the University of North Dakota Law School in Grand Forks from
1971 to 1972; and as a professor at Texas Tech University School of Law
from 1972 to 2016. Eissinger was Texas Tech School of Law associate dean
from 1999 to 2002 and interim dean from 2002 to 2003. He loved teaching,
traveling the world, and creating beautiful gardens. Eissinger is
survived by his wife of 45 years, Mary Eissinger; and sister, Delores
Erbele.
Ralph Edward Gustafson
Gustafson, 71, of Richmond, died May
20, 2017. He received his law degree from Baylor Law School and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1970. Gustafson was a partner in Stafford
& Patten in Houston in 1970; senior attorney and owner of the
Gustafson Firm in Houston from 1990 to 2003; and mediator and arbitrator
at Gustafson Mediation & Arbitration in Houston from 2013 to 2017.
He was a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Houston
Bar Association. Gustafson loved fishing, playing golf, and breeding and
racing quarter horses. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Deborah
W. Gustafson; son, Stephen E. Gustafson; daughters, Rebecca A. Gustafson
and Amelia L. Verdin; and two grandchildren.
Don W.
Saunders
Saunders, 75, of San Antonio, died May
1, 2017. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army and Reserve from 1963
to 1973 and in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1969 to 1973.
Saunders received his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1966. He was in private
practice in San Antonio from 1966 to 2017. Saunders was recognized by
North East Independent School District Board of Trustees for meritorious
service and served as president of the Rotary Club of San Antonio, and
was general counsel to Hermann Sons Life. He took great pride in being a
member of the bar and representing the legal profession with dignity and
respect; hard work, accessibility, no nonsense, common sense, and smarts
were the hallmarks of his practice. Saunders was an avid outdoorsman,
enjoying hunting, fishing, photography, and in particular, SCUBA diving,
both as a member of the SAINTS and as a Professional Association of
Diving Instructors certified instructor. He was at his best and most in
his element as a gentle mentor and teacher, whether extracting the
essence of a complex legal matter, teaching his children and
grandchildren how to hunt and shoot, or espousing the simple pleasure of
fishing. Saunders is survived by his wife of 10 years, Sharon Saunders;
son, attorney Charles T. Saunders; daughter, Kathryn Saunders Craven;
stepdaughter, Lorene Kohleffel; sisters, Janet Saunders and Susan Ford;
and seven grandchildren.
Bradley Clyde Phair Jr.
Phair, 84, of Belton, died October 3,
2017. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1958. Phair practiced law with
Petry, Claybrook, and Phair in Carrizo Springs from 1958 to 1963 before
working in real estate. He enjoyed fishing at the Texas coast and
hunting with his boys. Phair will be remembered as a hard-working and
loving family man. His boys will cherish their memories with the best
dad they could ask for. Phair is survived by his wife of 61 years, Andy
Phair; sons, Bradley Clyde Phair III, John Randall Phair, and Joseph
Carter Phair; brother, attorney George Allan Phair; sister, Phyllis
Phair Walton; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Donald M. Teer
Teer, 92, of Fredericksburg, died
February 20, 2017. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. Teer
received his law degree from Baylor Law School and was admitted to the
Texas Bar in 1952. He was a partner in Scanio, Teer & Cox, now Cox
& Holmstrom, in Refugio from 1953 to 2004. Teer was an avid reader,
had a keen interest in history, and traveled extensively throughout the
western United States and Canada. He is survived by his son, Jon Teer;
and daughter, Jane Teer.
Alberto Rincones Jr.
Rincones, 76, of Bedford, died June
17, 2017. He received his law degree from Texas Wesleyan University
School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1997. Rincones was an
attorney for 20 years in Dallas, primarily in private practice. He loved
his family and cherished time spent with them. Rincones was a devout
Catholic and sports fan. He is survived by his wife of 15 years,
attorney Roxanne Ballard Rincones; sons, Ryan Rincones and Anthony
Rincones; daughters, Andrea Troutt and Michelle Brown; brothers, Javier
Rincones, Charlie Rincones, and Larry Rincones; sisters, Margot Pena and
Norma Tanguma; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Philip Irving McConnell
McConnell, 82, of Fredericksburg,
died September 15, 2017. He received his law degree from the University
of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1962.
McConnell had a long and successful career as a corporate attorney,
working for Central Power and Light, Southwestern Bell, and Central and
South West Corporation. While at CPL, he litigated and won a case that
went through the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. While
in Dallas, McConnell was elected president of the Dallas Bar Association
Corporate Counsel Section; the North Texas District of the American
Society of Corporate Secretaries, now known as the Society of Corporate
Governance; and the Texas Utility Lawyer’s Association. He enjoyed being
an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association and the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority. McConnell served on the boards of Hill
Country Memorial Hospital and Gillespie County Historical Society and
served as president of the Hill Country Needs Council. He had been an
active Rotarian since 1999 and was elected “Rotarian of the Year” in
2002. McConnell loved his family and lived a full life. He enjoyed
reading, working crossword puzzles, traveling, and being with his
grandchildren. McConnell is survived by his wife of 59 years, Patricia
Ruth Griffin McConnell; daughters, Liz McConnell Lewis and Sue McConnell
Jones; and three grandchildren.
Roy William Mouer III
Mouer, 82, of Houston, died September 24,
2017. He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1956. Mouer received his
law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted
to the Texas Bar in 1961. He was a securities analyst and director of
enforcement for the Texas State Securities Board Enforcement Division
from 1961 to 1967; assistant attorney general of Texas in the municipal
bonds and charitable trusts division from 1968 to 1969; deputy
securities commissioner with the Texas State Securities Board from 1969
to 1972; securities commissioner with the Texas State Securities Board
from 1972 to 1976; principal in the Dallas law firm of Johnson &
Swanson from 1981 to 1984, during which time he opened the firm’s Austin
office; principal in Kuperman, Orr, Mouer & Albers in Austin from
1985 to 2003; and a solo practitioner in Houston from 2003 to 2012.
Mouer was president of the Midwest Securities Commissioners Association
in 1974; president of the North American Securities Administrators
Association in 1975; and chairman of the State Bar of Texas Committee on
Securities Law from 1996 to 1997. He will be remembered as a family man
and true gentleman, who was intelligent, generous, humble, and
courteous; and as an exemplary and accomplished attorney, who was
recognized as an expert in corporate and securities law. Mouer enjoyed
fishing, playing golf, and had a lifelong love of Italian opera. He is
survived by his wife of 59 years, Marie Nolte Mouer; sons, attorneys
Vince and Andy; sisters, Gaye Mouer and Carolyn Stevens; and five
grandchildren.TBJ
