Knoxville lawyer Bernard E. Bernstein died May 19 at the age of 92. A graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, he received his law degree from the University of Tennessee. Bernstein practiced law for 54 years with the firm he founded, which came to be known as Bernstein, Stair & McAdams. He was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the Tennessee Bar Foundation, as well as a past president of the Knoxville Bar Association and a recipient of its Governors Award. Early in his career, Bernstein help found the College of Law’s legal clinic. Legal Aid of East Tennessee recognized his commitment to pro bono work by honoring him as the first member of the Donald F. Paine Memorial Pro Bono Hall of Fame. Memorial donations may be made to Legal Aid of East Tennessee, 607 W. Summit Hill Dr. SW, Knoxville, TN 37902; The University of Tennessee Medical Center, 1924 Alcoa Hwy., Knoxville, TN 37920; or Heska Amuna Synagogue, 3811 Kingston Pk., Knoxville, TN 37919.

Nashville lawyer Thomas Ivo Carlton Jr. died April 22 at the age of 85. Carlton graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1960 and the Nashville School of Law in 1965, where he later worked with the school’s moot court program. Carlton was senior attorney for the Metro Government of Nashville for five years and then joined Cornelius, Collins, Higgins & White as an associate, serving there for four years. He became a partner at Cornelius & Collins in 1975, and practiced there until retiring in 2022. Carlton was an active member of the American, Tennessee and Nashville bar associations. Memorial donations may be made to Father Ryan High School, 700 Norwood Dr., Nashville, TN 37204 or Nashville School of Law, 4013 Armory Oaks Dr., Nashville, TN 37204.

Nashville attorney Ward DeWitt Jr. died April 25 at age 97. A Nashville native, DeWitt joined the Navy’s V-12 program for officer training and was training for the invasion of Japan when the Japanese surrendered in August 1945. After the war, DeWitt remained in the Navy and in 1946, witnessed test explosions of two atomic bombs at Bikini Island. After leaving the Navy, DeWitt returned to Nashville, graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1948 and Vanderbilt Law School in 1951. He was a partner in the firm of Trabue, Minick, Sturdivant & Harbison, which became Trabue, Sturdivant & DeWitt, and later merged with Miller & Martin. DeWitt also served a term in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1955-1956. Memorial contributions may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Ave., Nashville, TN 37205.

Johnson City lawyer Arthur Massey Fowler Jr. died April 5 at 77 years old. Following military service in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, Fowler returned to the United States to attend the University of Tennessee College of Law. He graduated with his law degree in 1973. Fowler practiced law in Memphis and Johnson City, focusing on civil litigation, business and estate and probate matters. For 20 years, he practiced law with his son Arthur Massey Fowler III, now with Fowler Baker Shade in Johnson City. Memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 105 S. Boone St., Johnson City, TN 37604 or to the Art Fowler Boys and Girls State Scholarship Fund, care of The American Legion, 409 E. Market St., Johnson City, TN 37601.

Memphis lawyer George Washington Graham Sr. died this past spring at the age of 69. Originally from St. Louis, Graham earned his law degree from St. Louis University and worked as a lawyer and certified public accountant in Missouri and Tennessee. He was a partner with the Missouri law firm of Goins, Graham and Associates. At the time of his death, Graham was serving as senior assistant attorney for the city of Memphis, a post he held for more than 15 years.

Knoxville lawyer Frank Henry Marsh Jr. died April 21 at the age of 94. After serving in the Pacific Theatre and Korea as a member of the U.S. Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps, Marsh attended the University of Tennessee College of Law. Following graduation, he opened a law practice in Knoxville. In his early career, he also managed U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver’s campaigns in Knox County and was city trial attorney. After practicing law for 25 years, Marsh returned to the university and earned a doctor of philosophy with a focus in bioethics. He then began a second career as a professor at the University of Colorado and its school of medicine. He retired from the school in 1992 and joined the Department of Philosophy at UT Knoxville. Between the ages of 80 and 82, Marsh wrote two fiction books. Memorial donations may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Habitat for Humanity program, 6500 Northshore Dr., Knoxville, TN 37919 or Doctors Without Borders, P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5030. |||