Nashville attorney John Randolph “Randy” Bibb Jr. died Jan. 9 after a brief illness. Bibb earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School. Bibb joined the Nashville office of Lewis Thomason in 2009 and played an integral role in the firm’s growth and success. He served as co-leader of the firm’s Products Liability Practice Group for more than 10 years. A funeral mass was held at the Cathedral of the Incarnation with burial following at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Dominican Campus, Attn: Development, 4210 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37205.

James Theodore “Jim” Bland Jr. died Nov. 27, 2025, in Florida at the age of 75. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in accountancy in 1972 from the University of Memphis and a law degree from the university’s Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1974. Bland began his career working at the Internal Revenue Service as an estate and gift tax attorney before joining the law firm of Armstrong, Allen, Prewitt, Gentry, Johnston and Holmes. He later opened his own private practice. Bland was active in the Tennessee legal community serving as president of the Federal Bar Association’s Memphis chapter from 1979-1980, as a charter fellow and president of the Memphis Bar Foundation, as president of the TBA Young Lawyers Conference (the precursor organization to the Young Lawyers Division) from 1984-1985, and on the TBA Board of Governors from 1990-1991. On the national level, he served as the youngest president of the Federal Bar Association from 1987-1988. After retiring, Bland moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands but returned to Memphis in 2015 and finally settled in Florida in 2017. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Wesleyan Hills United Methodist Church in Memphis.

Lewis “Lew” H. Conner Jr. died Jan. 4 at age 87. Connor attended Vanderbilt University for both his undergraduate and law degrees, going on to serve as a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps with the 101st Airborne Division from 1963–1966. He entered private practice and later co-founded Dearborn & Ewing. As his private practice career unfolded, Connor’s work in complex litigation ultimately led him to pioneer alternative dispute resolution techniques in Tennessee. Widely regarded as one of the “fathers of mediation,” he maintained an extraordinary record of successful resolutions. He later served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and as a special chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Connor received the Nashville Bar Association’s highest distinction, the John C. Tune Public Service Award, as well as the Best of the Bar Lifetime Achievement Award. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church or the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee.

Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Ron Durby has died. Durby earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee and practiced with the Legal Aid Society and attorney Clarence Shattuck before being appointed Hamilton County clerk and master in 1986. He went on to serve 18 years as a general sessions court judge.

Memphis attorney Matthew Kristian Eggleston died Nov. 28, 2025, at age 53. Eggleston practiced as a public defender in Memphis and later worked in Nashville for the Tennessee Drug Interdiction Program until his death. He earned his law degree in 1997 from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Donations in Eggleston’s memory may be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Tyree B. Harris IV died on Nov. 19, 2025, at age 80 according to his law firm. He graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1967 and from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1970. Upon graduation, he joined the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served in the JAG Corp from 1970 until 1973. Harris returned to Nashville to join the firm of Hooker, Keeble, Dodson & Harris (later Dodson, Harris, Robinson & Aden). In 2011, he formed his own firm of Harris, Brown & Associates, where he practiced until his death. He moved to Lexington, Virginia in 2020, and was very active with the Moot Court Program at Washington & Lee University while continuing to practice law in Nashville.

Lawrenceburg lawyer Charles W. “Charlie” Holt Jr. died Dec. 10, 2025, after a full day of work, according to his law firm. He was 74. Holt earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1976 and began his legal career in Smyrna. He soon moved back home to Lawrenceburg and began practicing with William E. “Bill” Boston in the firm now known as Boston, Holt & Durham. In addition to nearly five decades of private practice, Holt also served as county attorney for Lawrence County for more than 30 years. He was an active member of the Lawrence County and Tennessee Bar associations and was a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation.

Bristol lawyer Myers Newton Massengill died Jan. 19 at the age of 84. A 1964 graduate of the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law, Massengill practiced law for over 55 years. He was active in several legal and civic organizations, including serving as president of the Bristol Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association for Northeast Tennessee and Rocky Mount Historic Association. He also previously served as chair of the Salvation Army Board of Bristol and as a board member of the United Way of Bristol. Memorial contributions may be sent to the church at 650 Valley Dr., Bristol, VA 24201 or the Salvation Army of Bristol, 137 M.L.K. Blvd., Bristol, TN 37620.

Nashville attorney Patricia Lee Newton died Nov. 30, 2025, at age 77. She graduated from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1975 and practiced law at Gilreath & Associates in Knoxville. Newton moved to Nashville in 1978, where she became an assistant public defender for Metro Nashville government. In 1981, Newton began her 45-year career with the Tennessee state government, during which she held numerous leadership roles. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary, 765 Nonaville Rd., Mt. Juliet, TN 37122.

Tommy Thompson, one of Tennessee’s longest-serving district attorneys, died Dec. 12, 2025. He was 78. Thompson had been appointed district attorney in the state’s 15th Judicial District (which includes Jackson, Macon, Trousdale, Smith and Wilson counties), in 1977 and remained in that position for 44 years. He retired in 2021. A 1969 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Thompson began his professional career as an assistant district attorney in Nashville and later practiced law with his father in his hometown of Hartsville. Memorial donations may be made to the 15th Judicial District Child Advocacy Center, the Alzheimer’s Association or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Dickson Judge Shipp Robbley Weems died Nov. 14, 2025, at age 77. While attending the Nashville YMCA Night Law School (now Nashville School of Law), he was a teacher at White Bluff Elementary School. At the age of 29, Weems became the youngest Dickson city judge of record. In 1986, he established the first Public Defender Pilot Program in the state of Tennessee. Following its success, the state adopted the model, leading to the creation of the Public Defender’s Office as it exists today. He served as the elected public defender in Dickson County and the surrounding counties for several decades, then served as assistant public defender in Columbia and the surrounding counties until his retirement. In 2025, Weems’ daughter established the Weems-Rezapour Family Scholarship for Justice and Public Service in his honor. The scholarship supports high school seniors in Florida (where she lives and practices) who demonstrate integrity, civic engagement and a commitment to careers connected to justice and community leadership. It was created to reflect the values he embodied throughout his career — service, fairness and dignity for all. Donations in Weems’ memory can be made at fs8.formsite.com/zgraph/cxeky9er5q/index.

Judge Kevin Wilson, who presided over Collegedale Municipal Court for more than three decades, died Jan. 9, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Wilson, a 1981 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, was first elected in 1990, defeating incumbent Ray Dodson. It was the inaugural year the position was decided by popular vote after the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled the prior appointment system was unconstitutional according to the paper. Wilson was serving his fifth eight-year term at the time of his death. He had been reelected in 1998, 2006, 2014 and 2022. Wilson was an active member of the Chattanooga Bar Association, the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference and the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conferences. Prior to joining the bench, he practiced for one year in Knoxville before opening the practice of Wilson & Wilson in 1982 in Chattanooga with his wife, Scarlett T. Wilson. In 2002, the firm name was changed to Kevin B. Wilson Law Offices. |||