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.
Margaret Clark Jewell
Jewell, 79, of Paige, died November
29, 2015. She received her law degree from Southern Methodist University
School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1987. Jewell was a
research assistant for SMU Professor William V. Dorsaneo III from 1985
to 2010 and was self-employed in estate planning for dog owners from
1995 to 2010. She trained dogs in agility for competition and loved to
read and be outdoors. Jewell is survived by her sons, Frank, Charlie and
Michael; daughter, Laurie; and five grandchildren.
Joseph Redwine Patterson
Patterson, 89, of Dallas, died
January 6, 2017. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1947 and in the
U.S. Army Reserves from 1950 to 1953. Patterson received his law degree
from Southern Methodist University School of Law and was admitted to the
Texas Bar in 1954. He was an assistant district attorney in the Dallas
County District Attorney’s Office from 1954 to 1957 and then entered
into private practice. Patterson was the founding and senior partner in
Patterson, Lamberty, Stanford, Walls & Dwyer until his retirement in
2002. He was a longtime member of the University Park United Methodist
Church, where he sang in the choir for more than 20 years. Patterson was
an active competitor in running, biking, marathons, triathlons, and
duathlons. He was a lifelong member and handball player at the T. Boone
Pickens Downtown Dallas YMCA and was inducted into the Dallas YMCA
Turkey Trot Hall of Fame for over 30 years of volunteer service.
Patterson is survived by his son, Joseph Redwine Patterson Jr.;
daughter, Amy Patterson Corley; brother, Julian Culver Patterson; four
grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Alexander W.
Bolton
Bolton, 32, of Dallas, died October
21, 2017. He received his law degree from SMU Dedman School of Law and
was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2012. Bolton’s practice focused on
family law, and he last worked for Duffee + Eitzen in Dallas. He cared
deeply about being a great advocate for his clients. Bolton made
innumerable contributions to the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers,
the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Vivaldi Patron Circle, and the Dallas
Masonic Lodge. He is survived by his partner, Gary Lee “J.R.” Gower Jr.;
father, Tommy Bolton; stepfather, Bruce Kinder; mother, Carol Kinder;
stepmother, Amie Bolton; brothers, Dan Ater, Thomas A. Bolton Jr., Ryan
Kinder, and Marshall Jones; and sisters, Shannon Ater Landry, Jennifer
Bolton-Loup, Stacey Kinder-Belle, and Emilie Amie’ Steinberg.
Larry H. Schwartz
Schwartz, 79, of El Paso, died
September 25, 2017. He received his law degree from the University of
Cincinnati College of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1963.
Schwartz was a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps
from 1964 to 1967. He was an associate and partner in Diamond, Thorne,
Lesley & Schwartz from 1967 to 1975 and partner in Schwartz &
Earp in El Paso from 1975 to 2017. Schwartz was certified in family law
by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1975. He received a Texas
Academy of Family Lawyers Judge Sam Emison Memorial Award in 1989 and
the Hall of Legends Award from the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section
in August 2017. He is survived by his sons, attorney David Schwartz,
Michael Schwartz, and Mark Schwartz; daughter, Jeanne Hauk; brother,
attorney Barry Schwartz; and eight grandchildren.
Billy Bob
Sherley
Sherley, 74, of Anna, died October
27, 2017. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate
General’s Corps during the Vietnam War. Sherley received his law degree
from the University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas
Bar in 1968. He practiced law in Fort Worth; was a cattleman, rancher,
and farmer in Anna, and Lazbuddie; and was a partner in Sherley Anderson
Grain Elevators. Sherley loved the land and constantly read and studied
ways to improve the production of his crops and cattle. He was drawn to
the outdoors and was not fond of crowds, traffic, or the city. Sherley
is survived by his wife of 14 years, Kathryn; his son, Robert Thad
Sherley; daughter, Tasha Elizabeth Escoto; and three grandchildren.
Michael George Mahan
Mahan, 49, of Dallas, died December 9,
2017. He received his law degree from Southern Methodist University
School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1996. Mahan was also
admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District
of Texas in 1997 and to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003. He was an
associate of Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox in Dallas from 1996 to
2000; an associate of Godwin White & Gruber in Dallas from 2000 to
2001; general counsel to and senior vice president of Colemont Insurance
Brokers in Dallas from 2004 to 2010; general counsel to and corporate
secretary for Sun Holdings in Dallas from 2011 to 2016; and general
counsel to and chief operating officer of Sudhoff Companies in Houston
from 2016 until the time of his death. Mahan is survived by his wife of
nine months, Lauren Glesby Mahan; daughter, Kathryn Mahan; father,
George Mahan; and mother, Lois Mahan.
Maurice E. Amidei
Amidei, 84, of Houston, died November
3, 2017. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1958. Amidei was admitted to
the New York State Bar in 1976. He was an associate of the Firm of Ben
Gilbert in Fort Worth from 1958 to 1960; an assistant attorney with the
city of Fort Worth from 1960 to 1961; a partner in Bryan & Amidei in
Fort Worth; a senior attorney with Mobil in Dallas and New York from
1967 to 1976; in private practice in Houston from 1976 to 1995; and a
justice on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston from 1995 to 2005 (he
was elected to the court in 1994). Amidei received a “50-year Lawyer”
award from the Houston Bar Association in 2008. He enjoyed golf and
sailing. Amidei is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sara Bryan Amidei;
son, Anthony “Tony” M. Amidei; daughters, April Amidei Dancer and Angela
Amidei Dunn; sister, Sylvia Amidei Naslund; and nine grandchildren.
James Lloyd Kennedy
Kennedy, 89, of Granbury, died September
3, 2017. He served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1947. Kennedy received
his law degree from South Texas College of Law and his LL.M. from New
York University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1964.
He was a tax attorney with Shell Oil Company’s Tax Department in Houston
for 36 years. Kennedy graduated first in his class at South Texas
College of Law. He liked to sing, play bridge, and perform
church-related duties. Kennedy is survived by his wife of 68 years,
Betsy Kindred Kennedy; son, James “Jim” Lloyd Kennedy Jr.; daughters,
Kerry Kennedy Carlton and Sue Anne Kennedy Braddock; brother, Weldon
Craig Kennedy; sisters, Janelle, Sandra Herod, Mary Eckert, and Martha
Nored; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Sterling James Elza
Elza, 43, of Fort Worth, died
November 25, 2017. He received his law degree from the University of
Houston Law Center and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2000. Elza was
admitted to the Arkansas Bar in 2010. He was an attorney with Brown,
Dean, Proctor & Howell in Fort Worth from 2000 to 2017, becoming a
partner in 2009. Elza was named a Texas Rising Star and a Top Attorney
in Tarrant County from 2013 to 2017. He loved to travel, attend
concerts, including Austin City Limits every year, and to play music.
Elza is survived by his father, James Elza; mother, Gay Chalfant; and
brothers, attorney Slater C. Elza and Sam Elza.
James J.
Mullen
Mullen, 81, of Victoria, died June
5, 2017. He received his law degree from South Texas College of Law and
was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1962. Mullen was admitted to the
Florida Bar in 1962 and the Missouri Bar in 1965. He worked as an
examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C.,
from 1963 to 1964; as a patent attorney for Monsanto in St. Louis,
Missouri, from 1964 to 1972; as a general and patent attorney in private
practice in Houston from 1972 to 1973; as a patent attorney with Mostech
in Dallas from 1973 to 1974; as a general attorney with Shell Oil
Company in Houston from 1974 to 1991; as a patent attorney and head of
the patent department of Celanese in Corpus Christi from 1991 to 2007;
and as a patent consultant with DuPont in Corpus Christi from 2007 to
2015. Mullen was an avid reader and World War II buff. He is survived by
his wife of 53 years, Pauline S. Mullen; sons, Jimmy Mullen and Sean
Mullen; daughter, Jennifer Matey; and seven
grandchildren.TBJ
