Nashville lawyer Maclin P. “Mac” Davis Jr. died Jan. 11 at the age of 96. A 1950 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, his first legal job was with the law firm of Armistead, Waller, Davis & Lansden. He was made partner in 1955. In 1967, the name of the firm was changed to Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis. Except for a nine-year interlude as a partner in the Nashville office of Heiskell, Donelson, Bearman, Adams, Williams & Caldwell, Davis worked at Waller for his entire career. Davis also served as a member of the state House of Representatives from 1954-1956. Memorial donations may be given to Grace Episcopal Church, 5291 Main St., Spring Hill, TN 37174; St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, 4513 Park Ave., Nashville, TN 37209; the W.O. Smith Music School, 1125 8th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37023; or an animal rescue organization of the donor’s choice.

Nashville lawyer and former TBA President Harris Abram Gilbert died Feb. 15 at the age of 91. Born and raised in Nashville, Gilbert headed north to Yale University for undergraduate work and then on to the University of Chicago Law School. Following graduation, he returned to Nashville and served as an assistant district attorney. He then entered private practice focusing on probate and estate planning, business and real estate law. As managing partner of Gilbert and Milom he co-led the firm’s transition to Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs. Gilbert was a board member of the Nashville Bar Association and served as TBA president from 1994-1995. He was a founder of the Legal Aid Society and in 1996, the TBA created an award in his name to recognize those committed to pro bono work. Memorials gifts may be sent to the charity that best fits the memory of Harris.

After a sudden and brief illness, 21st District Attorney General Kim Helper died March 20. She was 63. Helper was appointed district attorney general in 2008 after serving in the attorney general’s office and as an assistant district attorney. She was re-elected three times, most recently in August 2022. Helper served as the District Attorney General’s Conference designee on the TBA Board of Governors for several years and held a number of leadership positions in community and professional organizations, including My Friend’s House, the Davis House Child Advocacy Center and Williamson County CASA. She was a graduate of Stetson University College of Law. Memorial donations may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 510 W. Main St., Franklin, TN 37064; Nashville Predators Foundation, 501 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203; Williamson County Animal Shelter, 1006 Grigsby Hayes Ct., Franklin, TN 37064; or St. Bonaventure University, 3261 W. State St., St. Bonaventure, NY 14778.

John Hughes Henderson Jr. died March 16 in Franklin. He was 87. Henderson received his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1961, and as a third-generation lawyer, practiced law in Tennessee for 45 years, the last 17 as district public defender for the 21st Judicial District covering Hickman, Lewis, Perry and Williamson counties. In addition, he served in a number of leadership positions in the profession, including time on the TBA Board of Governors. Henderson was admitted to practice law in both Tennessee and Mississippi and retired in 2006. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s Historical Committee, 510 W. Main St., Franklin, TN 37064 or a charity of one’s choice.

Franklin lawyer and TBA Senior Counselor Frank Calvin Ingraham died March 20. A 1954 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, Ingraham built a litigation practice representing individuals and corporations and was also a founding member of the American Trial Lawyers Foundation. He retired from the practice of law in 2014. A private burial will be held at his longtime residence, Tap Root Farm. Memorial donations may be made to the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, 1310 Franklin Rd., Brentwood, TN 37027 or The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2825 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY 40280.

Memphis lawyer Thomas Francis “Frank” Jackson III died Dec. 18 of natural causes. He was 82 years old. Known to his friends as “Bobo,” Jackson earned his law degree from the George Washington University School of Law and practiced law in Memphis for nearly 50 years. Memorial gifts may be made to the Sarah Elizabeth Farris and Thomas F. Jackson Scholarship at his alma mater, Rhodes College, Development Office, 2000 N. Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112.

Memphis lawyer William David “Bill” Levy died Jan. 29 at the age of 88. He earned a degree in journalism from the University of Alabama and spent 10 years serving in the U.S. Army and as state editor of the Columbus Enquirer in Georgia. He resumed his education at that point, earning a law degree from the University of Memphis. He stayed in Memphis and worked as a trial specialist for the National Labor Relations Board. He later went into private practice with the firms of Young & Perl and Baker Donelson.

Memphis lawyer William Rowlett Scott died March 5 after a long illness. He was 86. Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Yale College and a law degree in 1961 from Yale Law School. He joined the Army Reserves after law school and was discharged seven years later as a captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps. He simultaneously served as law clerk to U.S. District Judge Bailey Brown Jr. and as an attorney at Armstrong Allen. He later made partner and was named a member of the firm’s management committee. In 2006, Scott joined Burch, Porter & Johnson and worked there until his retirement in 2020. He focused his practice throughout the years on real estate and bankruptcy matters. Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, 700 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38105 or the Tennessee Nature Conservancy, 2 Maryland Farms, Ste. 150, Brentwood, TN 37027.

James S. Tipton Jr., 74, died on March 20. A Knoxville native, Tipton was a graduate of the University of Tennessee and Duke University College of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif. He practiced with Gentry Tipton & McLemore and was a member of the Knoxville, Tennessee and American Bar Associations. Active in the community, Tipton served for years as director and/or attorney for various non-profit charitable organizations, including Oak Home, YOKE, YMCA of Metropolitan Knoxville, Ethel Brickey Hicks Charitable Corporation, Bleak House Historical Library, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and various local churches. |||

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Barker Remembered

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William Muecke “Mickey” Barker died April 3 at the age of 81. Barker, from Chattanooga, spent 25 years on the judicial bench and 10 as a justice on the state Supreme Court. A 1967 graduate of the University of Cincinnati School of Law, Barker joined the U.S. Army after law school and served for two years in the U.S. Army Medical Field Service School. Following military service, Barker joined the Chattanooga law firm of Dietzen, Dietzen & Barker and served there until 1983 when he was appointed as a judge on the Hamilton County Circuit Court. In 1995, he was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and in 1998, he was named to the Tennessee Supreme Court. In 2005, Barker was unanimously chosen by his colleagues to become chief justice. During his time on the court, Barker chaired the Tennessee Judicial Council and the Tennessee Code Commission, served on the board of the Conference of Chief Justices and was chair of the Problem Solving Courts Committee. Barker retired from the court in 2008 and joined the law firm of Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, where he focused on alternative dispute resolution. He fully retired in 2021. Barker is a former president of the Chattanooga Trial Lawyers Association, board member of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association and Chattanooga Bar Association, member of the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, and fellow of the Chattanooga and Tennessee bar foundations. He received the TBA’s Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award in 2008. Memorial donations may be made to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Foundation, 615 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403, or First Presbyterian Church World Missions, 554 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403. |||