Roger James Bean of Tullahoma died July 5 at age 70. Bean earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Tennessee and practiced law for more than 45 years. Donations in Bean’s memory may be made to the Tullahoma Animal Shelter, 942 Maplewood Ave., Tullahoma, TN 37388.

William Lloyd “Bill” Brooks, a retired attorney and judge, died June 30 at his home in Nashville at age 83. Brooks practiced law in Tennessee for more than 55 years, beginning in 1966, both in private practice and as in-house counsel for two companies. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and often performed pro bono legal work. In addition to his law and counseling work, Brooks served as judge of the Belle Meade City Municipal Court for 10 years. Contributions may be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church, 311 W. Seventh St., Columbia, TN 38401.

Dot Dobbins, a trailblazer in family law and legal advocacy, died June 9 at age 77. Donations may be made to The Alternatives To Violence Project Inc. (AVP-USA), 2136 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul, MN 55116. A 1971 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Dobbins was one of only 12 women in a class of 150. She began her career at the Legal Aid Society of Nashville, where she led the family law unit for more than a decade, handling cases involving adoption, divorce, custody and domestic disputes. A founding member of the Lawyers’ Association for Women in 1981, she also served as general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Services and played a key role in drafting the state’s first order of protection law. Dobbins retired in 2015.

Thomas Jefferson Drake Jr. of Nashville died July 8 at age 78. Drake graduated from the Nashville School of Law in 1988 and practiced as a solo attorney for 37 years. He believed his greatest service in life was helping others and providing the best legal advice possible. Drake was admitted to the Supreme Court of Tennessee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, and was a member of the Nashville Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. Donations in his memory may be made to the Bellevue Exchange Club Foundation, memo: Tom Drake Memorial Scholarship, P.O. Box 210945, Nashville, TN 37221.

Judge George W. Emerson Jr. died July 29 at age 71. Emerson earned his degree from Memphis State University in 1977, followed by a law degree from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1980. He began his career as a law clerk for Judge William B. Leffler, then practiced law for more than two decades before being appointed as a U.S. Bankruptcy judge for the Western District of Tennessee in 2006, a role he held with honor until his retirement in 2020. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Baptist Reynolds Hospice House, Church of the Incarnation, Hope Church or Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Alfred Burton “Burt” English, also known as “Poppy,” died July 10 at the age of 82. English earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law (now the Winston College of Law) in 1976. That same year, he returned to Shelbyville and joined his father, Alfred L. English, in founding English and English Attorneys. English also served as judge for the city of Shelbyville for 10 years. Family visitation and a memorial service were held July 13. Memorial donations may be made to Ducks Unlimited, One Waterfowl Way, Memphis, TN 38120 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

Irving Lee Fentress, a Joelton lawyer, age 77, died June 13. Services were held June 17 at the Austin & Bell Funeral Home in Springfield. Fentress graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin and the Nashville School of Law. He ran his own CPA firm for over 40 years. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Mt. Sharon Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 4634 Mount Sharon Church Rd., Greenbrier, TN 37073 or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Hugh C. Gracey Jr., a Nashville lawyer, died July 8 at the age of 79. Originally from Pennsylvania, he graduated from Auburn University in 1967 and earned his law degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham in 1971. He returned to Nashville following law school graduation and practiced with his father for 12 years at Gracey, Madden Cowan & Bird before starting his own law firm of Gracey, Howard, and Sowell in 1987. That firm later became Gracey, Ruth, Howard, Tate and Sowell. Gracey was a member of the American Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association, Nashville Bar Association, Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association, Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel and the Defense Research Institute. He retired from the practice of law in 1999. Memorial donations may be made to “The BGA Fund” at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin.

John Thomas Greene, a Knoxville attorney, died Jan. 30 at age 83. Greene earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and began his legal career with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., working at its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, and later as a company lawyer in New York City. He eventually returned to Knoxville, where he represented plaintiffs in personal injury cases with the Law Offices of J.D. Lee. Funeral services were held Feb. 22 in Knoxville. Memorial donations may be made to the American Parkinson Disease Association, P.O. Box 61420, Staten Island, NY 10306.

Clifford Dwight Hawks of Humboldt died May 5 at age 85. Hawks earned his law degree in 1966 from the University of Memphis (then Memphis State) Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. He was a member of the Gibson County and Tennessee Bar Associations, a Master of the Bench member of the Lowell Edmunds Jackson American Inn of Court and a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. He served on the staff of the Memphis State Law Review from 1965 to 1966. He served as city judge for Humboldt and later as city attorney until 2014. Funeral services were held May 10 at The Church at Sugar Creek. Memorials may be made to The Church at Sugar Creek, 3400 E. Mitchell St., Humboldt, TN 38343.

Jefferson Cooper Orr, a Nashville lawyer, died May 21 at the age of 64. A graduate of Cumberland School of Law, Orr began his career at Manier, Herod, Hollabaugh & Smith until co-founding Smith Cashion & Orr in 1997. He practiced there for the remainder of his career. A memorial service was held in May at Christ Presbyterian Church. Donations in Orr’s memory may be made to Christ Presbyterian Academy, 2323-A Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, TN 37215, or Fellowship Bible Church, 1210 Franklin Rd., Brentwood, TN 37027.

Maxine Strickler, who worked for the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) for 25 years, died June 21 at age 97. Former Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Suzanne Craig Robertson remembers that when she started working at TBA in 1987, “Maxine was in the membership department. Nothing was computerized then and each member record was on a card in a big metal file called the Cardex.” Services were held June 27 in Goodlettsville.