Memorials • February 2024
William Bennett Thompson
Thompson, 82,
of Hillsboro, died September 15, 2023. He received his law degree from
the University of Oklahoma and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2011.
Thompson was also a member of the Oklahoma, New York, Michigan,
Illinois, and Hawaii bars. He served in the U.S. Army as a member of
the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, detailed at Fort Holabird,
Maryland, from 1965 to 1968. Thompson was an associate of Breed, Abbott
& Morgan in New York City from 1967 to 1969; an attorney with the
S.S. Kresge Company (later the Kmart Corporation) in Detroit and Troy,
Michigan, from 1969 to 1978; assistant general counsel to Pullman,
Inc., in Chicago, Illinois, from 1978 to 1984; general counsel to
Robert Bosch Corporation in Broadview, Illinois, from 1984 to 1993; and
in private practice in business litigation and civil rights in Wheaton,
Illinois, from 1993 to 2009. He received recognition of service from
the Chicago Bar Association Corporate Committee in 1985 and recognition
of service from the DuPage County Bar Association Public Education in
1994- 1995. Thompson is remembered for his great sense of humor; his
love of tennis, having played from ages 15 to 79 and attending the U.S.
Open in New York over a span of 40 years; and being a member of the
Economic Club of Chicago and University Club of Chicago from 1978 to
2018. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ann Thompson; daughters,
Laura Ann Thompson-Hill and Amy Lynn Cayzer; and brother, David Gilder
Thompson.
W. Majors Harris
Harris, 80, of Dallas,
died October 10, 2023. He received his law degree from the University
of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1969.
Harris was
a solo general law practitioner in 1971 and expanded his practice in
1973 to focus more on insurance, estates, and wealth building. He was a
member of the Dallas Bar Association Probate, Trusts and Estate
Planning, and Real Property Law sections. Harris was a member of the
Hillcrest Masonic Lodge, serving as worshipful master in 2000-2001. He
is remembered for his love of reading, whether to learn, expand his
horizons, or to amuse himself; and having many friends around the
Metroplex, seldom eating lunch alone. Harris is survived by his wife of
57 years, Barbara Larry Nelson Harris; son, Jedidiah Majors Harris;
daughter, Leslie Ben Harris Hamilton; brother, William Wesley Harris;
sister, Sarah Lee Jacobson, and three grandchildren.
Matthew Thigpen
Thigpen, 43, of Tyler,
died December 7, 2023. He received his law degree from South Texas
College of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2006. Thigpen was a
partner in Ladd & Thigpen in Tyler from 2009 to 2023 and a partner
in Thigpen TX Law in Tyler in 2023. He is remembered for his big heart
and sense of humor; spending time outdoors, especially mountain biking
and hunting with friends and family; and never meeting a stranger,
quickly becoming personal friends with clients with whom he’d
stay in contact long after their cases were completed. Thigpen is
survived by his son, Drake Thigpen; daughters, Olivia Thigpen, Emersyn
Thigpen, and Ellisyn Thigpen; mother, Renee Sessions; father, Gary
Thigpen; brothers, Corey Thigpen and Drew Thigpen; and sisters, Katie
Smith, Krystin Gresham, and Kelly Stephens.
Charles G. Schaeffer
Schaeffer, 86, of
Houston, died October 1, 2022. He received his law degree from the
University of Houston Bates College of Law cum laude and was admitted
to the Texas
Bar in 1974. Schaeffer served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1962. He
was a partner in Vandevoort and Schaeffer from 1974 to 1980 and a solo
practitioner with Charles G. Schaeffer, Attorney at Law from 1980 to
1987. Schaeffer is remembered for being a devoted grandfather who spent
his retirement focused on his grandchildren and for completing law
school at night in three years while designing flight paths for NASA as
an aerospace engineer by day. Schaeffer is survived by his son, Robert
Schaeffer; daughter, Alicia Witzofsky; and five grandchildren.
James Kenneth Walker
Walker, 87, of
Levelland, died August 3, 2023. He received his law degree from Baylor
Law School and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1960. Walker was county
attorney of Cochran County; judge of the 286th District Court in
Levelland; and a visiting judge in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton,
and Lubbock. He served many State Bar of Texas committees and was
recognized as “Best Trial Judge” by the Tarrant County Bar Association
for two years. Walker is remembered for his love of woodworking of all
forms and golf, having played for Baylor. He is survived by his wife of
45 years, Jo Beth Barnes Walker; sons, James G. Walker and Steven
Walker; daughters, Valerie Robertson, Kristie Yeary, and Ann Walker;
seven grandchildren, and one great grandchild.
William D. Pargaman
Pargaman, 65, of
Austin, died August 3, 2023. He received his law degree from the
University of Texas School of Law and was admitted to the Texas Bar in
1981. Pargaman was a partner in Brown McCarroll in Austin from 1981 to
2012; a partner in Saunders, Norval, Pargaman & Atkins in Austin
from 2012 to 2021; and a partner in Brink Bennett Pargaman Atkins &
Sanchez in Austin from 2021 to 2023. He was a fellow of the American
College of Trust and Estate Counsel; chair and legislative liaison of
the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law Section; and
a member of the State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education Committee.
Pargaman is remembered for his encyclopedic mind for laws and
legislative history pertaining to wills, trusts, estates, and related
practice areas and a keen understanding of Texas laws and federal tax
laws. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Lazn Pargaman; daughters,
Elizabeth and Catherine; and sister, Patrice Arnold.
