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.
Mary Ann Frederickson Kilgo
Kilgo, 73, of Dallas, died May 4, 2020.
She received her law degree from Southern Methodist University School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1977. Kilgo was an assistant
U.S. attorney with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Texas for 30 years. She enjoyed cycling, hunting, and traveling. Kilgo
is survived by her sisters, Marie Frederickson and Carol Thompson; and
one granddaughter.
Robert G. Turner
Turner, 72, of Houston, died May 25,
2020. He received his law degree from the University of Houston Law
Center and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1972. Turner was a solo
practitioner. He built Turner Farm, where he bred and raised horses with
a friend. Turner played guitar and had a lifelong love of music. He is
survived by his companion, Karna Arnet; son, Greyson Newell Turner; and
brother, Jack M. Turner Jr.
Richard Fritz
Fritz, 92, of Victoria, died March 8,
2020. He received his law degree from South Texas College of Law and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1959. Fritz opened Fritz and Fritz Law Firm
with his then wife, Barbara Hughes, in Victoria, closing the office when
Hughes died in 1988. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Jacqueline
James Cravey; daughters, Catherine Fritz and attorney Maranda Fritz;
stepsons, James Paul Cravey and Jeffrey M. Cravey; stepdaughter, Carissa
Platt; brother, Albert; sister, Mary Theresa Fritz; six grandchildren;
and nine great-grandchildren.
Robert Leo Taus
Taus, 79, of San Antonio, died August 4,
2018. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1960 to 1990, retiring as a
colonel. Taus received his law degree from St. Mary’s University School
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1998. He was an attorney in
the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and then in private
practice. Taus traveled to all seven continents with his wife. He took
up Krav Maga and often sparred with “kids” half or less of his age. Taus
summited Mount Kilimanjaro and also climbed Mount Everest. He is
survived by his wife, Lana; daughter, Jill; and sister, Mildred
Yarde.
James Joseph Hartnett Sr.
Hartnett, 90, of Dallas, died May 29,
2020. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1952. Hartnett
received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and
was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1958. He was an associate of and
partner in Turner, Atwood, White, McLane & Francis from 1959 to 1967
and a partner in Turner, Hitchins, McInerney, Webb & Hartnett from
1967 to 1982 and the Hartnett Law Firm from 1982 to 2020. Hartnett was
certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal
Specialization from 1986 to 2016. He was an American College of Trust
and Estate Counsel fellow from 1973 to 2018 and served as Dallas Bar
Association Probate, Trusts, and Estates Section chair in 1974. Hartnett
is survived by his wife of 64 years, Emily High Hartnett; sons, attorney
Will Hartnett, attorney Jim Hartnett Jr., attorney Jay Hartnett, and
attorney Fred Hartnett; daughters, Ellen Crim and attorney Melinda
Hartnett; sisters, Peg O’Neill and Mary Jo Nelson; 20 grandchildren; and
two great-grandchildren.
Barry Don Peterson
Peterson, 73, of Amarillo, died March
31, 2020. He received his law degree from St. Mary’s University School
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1972. Peterson was an
attorney at Stokes, Carnahan & Fields in Amarillo and eventually
became senior partner in Peterson, Farris, Byrd & Parker in
Amarillo. He was a founding member of the Texas Young Lawyers
Association and an active member of the Texas Association of Defense
Counsel. Peterson served faithfully at the First Baptist Church Amarillo
as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, and chair of the church restoration
and landscape projects. He was a board member of the Amarillo Symphony,
the Lone Star Ballet, the Citadelle Art Foundation, the Amarillo
Botanical Gardens, and the Golden Spread Council of the Boy Scouts of
America. Peterson was a man of many gifts, being foremost a kind,
generous, and loving friend. He is survived by his wife of 15 years,
Tisha O’Neill Ware Peterson; son, Barry Don Peterson Jr.; daughter,
Shelbi Peterson Whittenburg; sisters, Marilyn Crafton and Jona Smith;
and nine grandchildren.
Holloway John Martin Jr.
Martin, 87, of Mexia, died April 2,
2020. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a navigator in the 465th
Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from 1954 to 1957. Martin received his law
degree from Baylor Law School and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1960.
He was county attorney of Limestone County from 1960 to 1972 and was in
private practice from 1972 to 2016. Martin was a member of First Baptist
Church Mexia. He enjoyed ranching, trap shooting, golfing, and gun
collecting. Martin is survived by his wife of 55 years, Louise Carr
Martin; daughter, Elizabeth Martin Ford; and two grandchildren.
Fred J. Morton
Morton, 84, of El Paso, died May
26, 2020. He received his law degree from the University of Texas School
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1958. Morton was a law clerk
for U.S. District Judge R. Ewing Thomason in El Paso from 1958 to 1960,
an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western
District of Texas in El Paso from 1961 to 1965, a law clerk for U.S.
District Judge Dorwin Wallace Suttle in El Paso in 1965, a commissioner
on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in El Paso
from 1966 to 1971, and an attorney and mediator at the Law Office of
Fred J. Morton in El Paso from 1971 to 2018. He was certified in
residential real estate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Morton served as president of the El Paso Bar Association from 1985 to
1986, including establishing the public defender and jail magistrate
offices in El Paso. He received the El Paso Bar Association’s
Outstanding Senior Lawyer Award in 2008. Morton was an accomplished
artist and history buff. He was inducted into the El Paso County
Historical Society Hall of Honor in 2019. Morton also led a successful
effort to rename the historic El Paso U.S. Courthouse in honor of his
mentor, U.S. District Judge R.E. Thomason. He is survived by his sons,
Chris M. Morton, John R. Morton, Robert D. Morton, Peter F. Morton, and
Thomas M. Morton; daughters, Anne M. James, attorney Mary Virginia
Creighton, and Mary Katherine Woods; brother, R.A.D. Morton Jr.; and 21
grandchildren.
Joseph Lev Hunt
Hunt, 95, of Corpus Christi, died May
20, 2020. He served in the U.S. Navy from July 1943 to September 1946.
Hunt received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law
and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1949. He was an attorney at Hunt,
Hermansen, McKibben & Barger in Corpus Christi and Kleberg, Mobley,
Locket & Weil in Corpus Christi, and an assistant district attorney
in the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of
Texas. Hunt was an avid tennis player and a world-class maker of Ramos
Gin Fizz. Hunt loved to travel to his World War II haunts, including San
Francisco, California, and Hawaii, and also camping in the western U.S.
state and national parks. He loved his family, especially his
grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Hunt is survived by his sons,
Thomas Lev Hunt and Stewart Alvin Hunt; daughter, Margarette Hunt Smith;
eight grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Robert Lewis Dabney Jr.
Dabney, 88, of Houston, died April 23,
2020. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, being honorably
discharged as a major. Dabney received his law degree from the
University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in
1956. He was a staff attorney in the legal department of Gulf Oil for
eight years before going into general practice with Austin & Dabney
and retiring with Dabney & Pappas. Dabney served on the State Bar of
Texas District Grievance Committee and the Houston Bar Association
Historical Committee, including serving as its chair. He spent over 50
years involved with the Boy Scouts of America, becoming an Eagle Scout
in 1946, and eventually pack master, scout master, explorer adviser,
commissioner, and district chairman of the Golden Arrow District and the
Buffalo Trail Council, and sat on the Sam Houston Area Council Advisory
Board. Dabney was a pilot for over 20 years and was appointed to the
Texas Wing Civil Air Patrol as a commissioner by Gov. Dolph Briscoe. He
was a York Rite Mason, a Knight Templar, and a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite
Mason in the Rising Star Lodge in Center Point. Dabney was a lifelong
Episcopalian and member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. He is survived
by his wife of 38 years, Judith Anderson Dabney; son, John Nelson
Dabney; stepsons, Dick Hoskins Gregg III and Christopher Anderson Gregg;
one grandson; and five step-grandchildren.
Alfred John Harper II
Harper, 77, of Houston, died March 9,
2020. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve from 1960 to 1967.
Harper received his law degree from Southern Methodist University School
of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1967. He was a section head
partner in Fulbright & Jaworski in Houston from 1967 to 2007 and
senior counsel to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Houston from 2007 to
2015 and to Littler Mendelson in Houston from 2015 to 2020. Harper was
an original founder and member of the College of Labor and Employment
Lawyers. He loved the practice of law. Harper enjoyed reading and being
with friends and family. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Cynthia
Harper; son, Alfred John Harper III; daughter, Leslie Harper Sharp; and
three grandchildren.
Joe DeLay Taylor
Taylor, 103, of Fort Worth, died April 2,
2020. He served in the Texas National?Guard from 1937 to 1940, and the
U.S.?Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force from 1942 to 1970. Taylor served
overseas as a combat pilot from 1943 to 1945, then began with the Judge
Advocate General’s Corps in 1945. He received his law degree from the
University of Illinois College of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar
in 1970. He was admitted to practice in Illinois in 1941. Taylor served
as a captain and major in the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps in Texas,
Tennessee, New York, and Washington, D.C., from 1945 to 1950; a major in
the JAG Corps at the 1500th Air Transport Wing at Hickam Air Force Base
in Hawaii from 1950 to 1953; a lieutenant colonel and executive officer
to Gen. R.C. Harmon of the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps at the Pentagon from
1953 to 1957; lieutenant colonel and colonel in the JAG Corps for the
3510th Air Transport Wing at Randolph Air Force Base from 1957 to 1960;
colonel JAG Corps for the Ninth Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base in
South Carolina from 1960 to 1962; colonel of the JAG Corps for U.S. Air
Forces Europe at Lindsey Air Station and Wiesbaden Air Base in West
Germany from 1962 to 1965; colonel of the JAG Corps Air University at
Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama from 1965 to 1970; and a partner in
Jacobs, Taylor & Cocanower in Fort Worth from 1970 to 1990. He was
awarded the Legion of Merit in 1958 for outstanding service as a JAG
attorney at Randolph Air Force Base and again in 1965 for outstanding
service as an international lawyer in dealings with NATO and U.S. Air
Forces in Europe. Taylor was a member of the Federal Bar Association
from 1965 to 1970. He had a wonderful sense of humor and positive
outlook on life. Taylor was a lifelong and avid bridge player. He
enjoyed driving his tractor on his rural property in Wise County. Taylor
is survived by his sons, Lawrence J. Taylor and attorney Thomas W.
Taylor; and one grandchild.
Russell Bryan Smith Jr.
Smith, 82, of Dallas, died June 24,
2019. He received his law degree from Southern Methodist University
School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1962. Smith was an
attorney with Woodruff & Hill and Smith & Smith. He was a member
of the State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee, the State Bar of Texas
Business Law Section, and the State Bar of Texas Corporate Counsel
Section. Smith enjoyed fishing. He is survived by his wife, Linda
Sonnamaker; son, attorney Robert B. Smith; daughter, Donna Sue Smith;
and three grandchildren.
Alfred William Walker
Walker, 94, of Dallas, died April 8,
2020. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force from June 1944 to June 1946.
Walker received his law degree from Baylor Law School and was admitted
to the Texas Bar in 1949. He was a partner in Ratliff, Conner &
Walker in Spur from 1949 to 1968; executive assistant attorney in the
Office of the Texas Attorney General in Austin from 1968 to 1973;
executive administrator of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin
from 1973 to 1978; and first assistant attorney general in the Office of
the Texas Attorney General in Austin from 1979 to 1989. Walker wrote
four books and had many short stories published. He is survived by his
wife of 71 years, Jane Richey Walker; daughters, Cynthia Estee and Betsy
Willis; brother, George Walker; four grandchildren; and five
great-grandchildren.
Raeburn Carson Llewellyn Jr.
Llewellyn, 66, of Houston, died
March 1, 2020. He received his law degree from Tulane Law School and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1986. Llewellyn was admitted to the
Louisiana Bar in 1981. He was a senior landman with J.M. Huber
Corporation in Houston from 1985 to 1991 and in private practice in
Houston from 1991 to 2020. Llewellyn owned thoroughbred racing horses.
He enjoyed watching college football, especially the University of
Alabama and the University of Virginia. Llewellyn was a member of
Marshall’s Grove family home and Valley Creek Presbyterian Church in
Valley Grande, Alabama. He is survived by his wife of 13 years, Gail O.
Llewellyn; and sisters, Mary Rebecca Llewellyn and Patricia Lee
Llewellyn-Loncke.
Matthew Sloan
Sloan, 27, of Missouri City, died May
13, 2020. He received his law degree from Baylor Law School and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 2018. Sloan was an assistant district
attorney in the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office from 2018 to
2019 and an associate of the Law Office of Mark Diaz from 2019 to 2020.
He and his wife had dated since they were teenagers and had a
six-month-old daughter at the time of his death. Sloan enjoyed sports,
especially baseball. He was passionate about his religion and beliefs,
including setting an example for everyone who knew him to be kind,
humble, caring, and dedicated. He is survived by his wife, Destinee
Sloan; daughter, Charlotte Grace Sloan; father, attorney Jim Sloan;
mother, Edie Sloan; and sister, Amy Sloan.
LeRoy Morgan Jahn
Jahn, 76, of San Antonio, died March 17,
2020. She received her law degree from the University of Texas School of
Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1968. Jahn was an appellate
attorney in the U.S. Department of Labor Equal Pay for Women Appellate
Section from 1968 to 1972; was assistant U.S. attorney for the Western
District of Texas from 1978 to 1981, creating and leading the new
criminal appellate section; was an adjunct professor of law at St.
Mary’s University School of Law from 1980 to 1982; detailed to
investigation, prosecution, and appeals related to the murder of U.S.
District Judge John H. Wood and attempted murder of Assistant U.S.
Attorney James Kerr from 1981 to 1988; was chief of the appellate
section of the Western District of Texas from 1986 to 1992; was special
assistant to the director of the FBI in Washington, D.C., from 1992 to
1993; detailed to the investigation, prosecution, and appeals related to
the death of four law enforcement agents at the Branch Davidian Compound
in Waco from 1993 to 1995; was part of the Whitewater investigation from
1995 to 1998; and worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Antonio
from 1998 to 2010 with her husband, Assistant U.S. Attorney W. Ray Jahn.
She was recognized by Federally Employed Women in 1976 for being the
first female assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Texas
and received several national awards for exceptional service from the
U.S. Attorney’s Office national director. Jahn headed an internship
program at St. Mary’s that allowed seniors to work directly on appeals
and trials in the U.S. Attorney’s Office leading to clerkships for many.
She coached the first moot court team from St. Mary’s to win the State
Bar of Texas Moot Court Competition. Jahn was known for her cooking
skills and willingness to organize and direct social engagements for
work and for her friends outside of the office. In retirement, she
relished the chance to spend time with and travel with her
granddaughter, Morgan. Jahn is survived by her husband of 51 years, W.
Ray Jahn; daughter, Andrea Jahn Olivas; sisters, Martha Shigo and Martha
Curtice; and one granddaughter.TBJ
