Memorials February 2022
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.
Arthur David Courtade
Courtade,
74, of Fort Worth, died October 16, 2021. He received his law degree
from Baylor Law School and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1970.
Courtade was an associate of Simon & Simon in Fort Worth and in
private practice in Fort Worth. He graduated at the top of his class at
Baylor Law School and was editor of the Baylor Law Review.
Courtade was founding director of the Tarrant County Family Law Bar
Association and the Texas Academy of Family Law Specialists. He was
special counsel to the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs in
Washington, D.C. Courtade enjoyed sports, travel, and music. He is
survived by his son, Arthur David Courtade Jr.; daughter, Kayla Alley;
sister, Ruth Ann Teague; and three grandchildren.
W. Hays Parks
Parks, 80, of
Lorton, Virginia, died May 11, 2021. He received his law degree from
Baylor Law School and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1966. Parks
served in the U.S. Marine Corps as an officer, the U.S. Marine Corps
Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and the Marine Corps Reserve. He served
in Vietnam in the infantry and as senior prosecuting attorney, the first
Marine Corps representative at the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center
and School, a congressional liaison officer for the secretary of the
Navy, and chief of the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy
Law of War Branch. Parks received the Navy-Marine Corps, Canadian, and
British Parachutist Wings, U.S. Army Master Parachutist Wings, and 82nd
Airborne Centurion Wings. He was special assistant to the JAG of the
Army for Law of War Matters from 1979 to 2003, including being legal
adviser for the 1986 air strike against terrorists in Libya and leading
the investigation of Iraqi war crimes during the occupation of Kuwait.
Parks served as legal adviser for U.S. Special Operation Forces from
1979 until his retirement. He served as a U.S. delegate for law of war
negotiations in New York, Geneva, The Hague, and Vienna. Parks was
instrumental in negotiations for several important treaties, including
the Blinding Laser Weapons Protocol. He served in the Department of
Defense Office of the General Counsel International Affairs Division and
the department’s Law of War Working Group from 2003 to 2010. Parks was
Charles H. Stockton Professor of International Law at the U.S. Naval War
College from 1984 to 1985. He served as a staff member on the
Presidential Commission to examine alleged security breaches in the U.S.
Embassy in Moscow. Parks received the U.S. Special Operations Command
Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in 2001 and was awarded the National
Defense Industrial Association Small Arms Group Gunnery Sgt. Carlos N.
Hatchcock Award. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Maria
Lopez-Otin.
S. Edward Hale Jr.
Hale, 87,
of Plano, died April 22, 2021. He received his law degree from the
University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in
1960. Hale was general counsel to the Dallas Teachers Credit Union,
retiring as president in 1996. He was a frequent speaker on issues
affecting the credit union and banking industries and spent time in
Washington, D.C., working on issues with Congress. Hale was known for
his keen intellect and sharp sense of humor. He enjoyed woodworking and
reading on a variety of interests and was an avid fan of the Dallas
Cowboys and Texas Longhorns football. Hale is survived by his sons,
David Hale and attorney Robert Hale; sister, Gloria Tidrow; six
grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Deborah Ellison Farris
Farris, 70, of Dallas, died October 29, 2021. She received
her law degree from Howard University School of Law and was admitted to
the Texas Bar in 1979. Farris was a criminal appellate attorney in the
Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, founded the Criminal Appellate
Section in the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, was in private
practice as a criminal appellate attorney, and was appointed multiple
times to serve as judge in the Dallas County Mental Illness Court. She
was a member of the National Bar Association, J.L. Turner Legal
Association, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and Dallas
Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Farris enjoyed traveling,
shopping, and spending time with her family. She was a member of The
Girl Friends, Inc., and Circle-Lets, Inc. Farris is survived by her
husband, James Randolph Farris Jr.; son, attorney James Randolph Farris
III; brother, John Ellison III; and sister, attorney Sheryl
Ellison-Blue.
Robert Ashley
Ashley, 95,
of Dallas, died September 15, 2021. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944
to 1946. Ashley received his law degree from George Washington
University Law School and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1952. He was
a partner in Ashley & Welch from 1950 to 2000. Ashley enjoyed
traveling, sailing, and playing golf. He is survived by his wife of 20
years, Elsa Toledo Ashley; son, Bill Ashley; daughters, Susan Tolliver,
Rebecca Skiles, and Judy Ashley; six grandchildren; and seven
great-grandchildren.
Robert Louis “Bob” Blinderman
Blinderman, 73, of Amarillo, died December 16, 2021. He
received his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law and was
admitted to the Texas Bar in 1974. Blinderman was an associate of the
Law Office of Waggoner Carr in Austin from 1974 to 1975, in private
practice in Austin from 1975 to 1981 and in Amarillo from 1981 to 2018,
and of counsel to Jim Brown Law Office in Canyon from 1981 to 2018. He
was president to Temple B’nai Israel in Amarillo. Blinderman was an
active member of the Lubbock Scottish Rite and a master Mason in the
Palo Duro Masonic Lodge in Amarillo. He was a business law instructor at
Amarillo College and West Texas State University. Blinderman is survived
by his wife of 40 years, Mary Hitchcock Blinderman; stepson, Anderson
Simmons; stepdaughter, Robin Townsend; sister, Susan Blinderman; and two
stepgrandchildren.TBJ
