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.
Pablo Luis Alvarado III
Alvarado, 62, of Dallas, died
December 22, 2018. He received his law degree from Texas Tech University
School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1982. He was in
private practice at the Law Office of Pablo Alvarado in Dallas and was
abogado consultor for the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas in 1999.
Alvarado served as president of the Mexican American Bar Association of
Dallas. He also served on the boards of the Dallas Bar Association and
North Texas Legal Services. Alvarado was a patron of the arts and a
prolific modern art collector. He was a long-distance runner and
triathlete in his youth. Alvarado loved good music, good times, and the
Dallas Cowboys. He is survived by his brother, Frank Alvarado.
Charles Edwin Prichard Jr.
Prichard, 87, of Corpus Christi,
died August 6, 2018. He received his law degree from Southern Methodist
University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1954.
Prichard served two years in the U.S. Army counterintelligence corps. He
served as assistant district attorney, assistant county attorney, and
county attorney for Nueces County; and was a partner and shareholder in
Prichard, Peeler & Smith until his retirement in 1992, when the firm
was known as Prichard, Peeler, Hatch, Cartwright, Hall & Kratzig.
Prichard was among the first attorneys to be certified in civil trial
law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1978. He was an avid
golfer and tennis and handball player and enjoyed hunting, including
bowhunting. Prichard and his wife, Marjorie, traveled extensively
throughout the U.S. and Europe. He was a prolific reader, especially of
biographies. Prichard is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years,
Marjorie Ann Reynolds Prichard; sons, Charles Prichard and David
Prichard; and two grandchildren.
Ryan Keith Wallace
Wallace, 27, of Houston, died December
5, 2018. He received his law degree from South Texas College of Law
Houston and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2018. Wallace was an
associate of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Houston in 2018, practicing in
capital markets and securities and corporate mergers and acquisitions.
He was the American Bar Association Regional Champion for Regional Best
Brief and National Best Brief. Wallace received the South Texas College
of Law Houston Dean’s Outstanding Student Advocate Award and the State
Bar of Texas Appellate Section’s Award for Excellence in Appellate
Advocacy. He is survived by his wife, attorney Kyrie Cameron; father,
Ronnie Wallace; mother, Connie Wallace; brother, Kevin Wallace; and
grandparents, Mike and Kay Hall, Phil and Barbara Wallace, and Sue
Elliott.
Hugh Pete Jones Plummer
Plummer, 74, of Houston, died
November 5, 2018. He received his law degree from the University of
Houston Law Center and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1972. Plummer
was a partner in Brown, Bradshaw & Plummer in Houston from 1972 to
1975, in Bradshaw & Plummer in Houston from 1975 to 1985, and in
Plummer & Farmer in Houston from 1985 to 2018. He was a member of
the Houston Bar Association, served on a State Bar of Texas Grievance
Committee, and was a fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation. Plummer
enjoyed hunting, fishing, and playing golf. He is survived by his wife
of 50 years, Judith “Judy” O. Plummer; sons, Hugh Jones Plummer Jr. and
Gill Owen Plummer; sister, Diana Plummer Knutzen; and seven
grandchildren.
James C. Hogan
Hogan, 89, of Dallas, died January 3,
2019. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from January 1951 to January
1956. Hogan received his law degree from South Texas College of Law and
was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1962. He retired from the practice of
law in 1979. Hogan is survived by his son, James A. Hogan; daughters,
Susan Capp, Sandra Prater, and Wendy Collins; 11 grandchildren; and
three great-grandchildren.
Edward “Ed” Kliewer III
Kliewer, 73, of San Antonio, died
December 8, 2018. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 to 1970,
including 13 months in Vietnam, and was discharged as a captain. Kliewer
received his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1973. He was an attorney with Foster,
Lewis, Langley, Gardner & Banack in San Antonio from 1972 to 1997; a
partner in Kliewer, Breen Garatoni, Patterson & Malone from 1997 to
2006; and with Fulbright & Jaworski, now Norton Rose Fulbright, from
2006 to 2018, serving as senior counsel at the time of his death.
Kliewer was general counsel to the Institute for Professionals in
Taxation in Atlanta for 22 years. He was lead counsel in major property
tax lawsuits throughout Texas and surrounding states. In 2016, Kliewer
was part of a team of attorneys that participated in the largest
successful property tax suit ever tried in Texas. He is survived by his
wife, Sara Harlan Kliewer; son, Art Kliewer; daughter, Kristin Kliewer
Ernst; stepsons, Captain Christopher Adams and Kevin Adams; and four
grandchildren.
Derral K. Sperry
Sperry, 88, of Clinton,?Missouri, died
December 12, 2018. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
Sperry received his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center
and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1962. Sperry was admitted to the
U.S. Supreme Court in 1980. He was a claims adjuster and manager, and
staff counsel to Hardware Mutual Casualty Company, now Sentry Insurance,
in Houston; bonds claim attorney for Highlands Insurance Company in
Houston; trial attorney and shareholder in Martin & Sperry in
Houston; managing attorney for AIG in Houston; and a solo practitioner
in fidelity and contract bond litigation, medical malpractice, and tort
litigation in Houston. Sperry served for several years as a pro bono
legal adviser and board member of a nonprofit cancer survivor and
support group. He enjoyed boating, fishing, and spending time at his
second home on Galveston Bay. Sperry is survived by his son, Stephen R.
Sperry; daughter, Glenda L. Sperry Wall; seven grandchildren; and four
great-grandchildren.
Joe M. Pirtle
Pirtle, 92, of Seabrook, died January 7,
2019. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from May 1944 to July 1946.
Pirtle received his law degree from the University of Arkansas School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1971. He was admitted to
practice in Arkansas in 1957. Pirtle was in private practice and served
as a municipal judge for 31 years. He was a member of the Texas
Municipal Courts Association Board of Directors for 23 years and served
two terms as president, during which time he conceived and helped obtain
passage of the Texas Municipal Courts Education Act of 1983. Pirtle is
survived by his wife of 55 years, Sherry L. Pirtle; son, Michael Pirtle;
daughter, Denise Shaffer; three grandchildren; and one
great-grandchild.
Jay Edward Tantzen
Tantzen, 60, of Woodville, died
November 12, 2018. He received his law degree from Oklahoma City
University School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1993.
Tantzen was an attorney with Barron & Barron in Nederland from 1994
to 1999, with Tommy Gunn in Orange from 1999 to 2002; and in private
practice in Bridge City from 2002 to 2018. He was a Dallas Cowboys fan,
a veteran deer hunter, and both a fresh- and saltwater fisherman.
Tantzen is survived by his mother, Shirley Tantzen, and his brother,
John Michael Tantzen.
David Eric Wood
Wood, 67, of McAllen, died December
6, 2018. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1975 to 1980 and received a
Humanitarian Service Medal. Wood received his law degree from South
Texas College of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1986. He was
an associate of Ewers & Toothaker in McAllen from 1986 to 1988; an
associate of Thornton & Summers in McAllen from 1988 to 1989; an
associate of Layer, Rodriguez & Associates in McAllen from 1989 to
1995; an associate of Garcia, Lopez & Wood in Edinburg from 1995 to
1997 and a partner in the firm from 1997 to 2001; an associate of Steven
M. Gonzalez & Associates in McAllen from 2001 to 2005; and in
private practice in McAllen from 2005 to 2018. Wood was certified in
personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He
worked tirelessly to help those in need of his services regardless of
their ability to pay. Wood was a loving and devoted husband and father.
He was an avid reader and a great lover of music, history, and travel.
Wood enjoyed gardening and golfing. He is survived by his wife of 43
years, Candace J. Wood; son, David W. Wood; daughters, Bonnie J. Wood
and Leslie M. Wood; brothers, Don Wood and Mike Wood; and four
grandchildren.
John Luke “Jack” McConn Jr.
McConn, 95, of Houston, died January 6,
2019. He served in the U.S. Army from May 1944 to summer 1946, being
awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Silver Star, and was honorably
discharged. McConn received his law degree from the University of Texas
School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1949. He was a senior
partner in Butler, Binion, Rice, Cook & Knapp in Houston for nearly
30 years before forming his own law firm in Houston in 1986. McConn was
a member and past president of the Houston Bar Association, a member of
the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, a Texas Bar Foundation
Fellow, and a fellow in both the International Society of Barristers and
the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served on the boards of
directors of the St. Joseph Foundation and St. Thomas High School.
McConn was an avid, self-taught portrait and landscape artist. He is
survived by his wife of 71 years, Katie; sons, John Luke McConn III,
Stephen Burke McConn, and Mark Daniel McConn; daughters, Kathleen
“Kathy” McConn Smith and Erin McConn Hughston; 17 grandchildren; and 14
great-grandchildren.
Terry Gene Collins
Collins, 75, of Rockport, died
November 19, 2018. He received his law degree from the University of
Houston Law Center and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1970. Collins
was an assistant district attorney in the Harris County District
Attorney’s Office from 1970 to 1974; in private practice in Houston and
Rockport for nearly 49 years; and taught criminal law at Saint Leo
University. He was certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal
Specialization. Collins compiled a collection of his favorite legal
stories in Tales of a Texas Lawyer. He enjoyed golfing and
loved animals, including his pet dogs, cats, and flock of guineas.
Collins is survived by his wife of 31 years, Linda; son, Tommy Reifel;
daughters, Kendall Smith and Stacy Wussow; and six
grandchildren.TBJ
