Rosetta Miller-Perry, founder and publisher of one of Tennessee's most prominent Black newspapers and a longtime Nashville community leader, died today. She was 91. A civil rights activist, Miller-Perry founded the Tennessee Tribune in 1991, overseeing its growth into one of the state's most prominent Black newspapers on North Nashville's Jefferson Street. She also established the Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce. She received the National Newspaper Publishers Lifetime Achievement Award and made a long-term influence on Nashville's Black business and media community by highlighting businesses otherwise overlooked. In 2025, she was inducted into the Nashville Entrepreneur Center Hall of Fame. Funeral arrangements are not yet available. The Tennessean has more on her life.

Kentucky lawyer and TBA senior counselor Richard "Barry" Benton died Oct. 21, 2025, at age 88. Benton practiced law from 1966 to 2012, focusing on taxation and estate planning. After graduating from Emory University School of Law, he passed six bar exams and was licensed to practice in eight Southeastern states, including Tennessee. He balanced his private practice with service as a prosecutor in Fayette County, Kentucky. A memorial service honoring Benton's life was held Nov. 9, 2025, at the Madison Campus Seventh-day Adventist Church. Memorial donations may be made to Abba's Work Inc., 109 Cottage Place, Nashville, TN 37214. Checks should be made payable to "Abba's Work Inc." Proceeds support the organization's efforts to help educate college students in Africa and develop Christian leaders.

Abu-Ali Abdur’rahman, a former Tennessee death row prisoner, died at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution early Sunday morning from liver cancer, his longtime attorney Bradley MacLean told the Nashville Banner. Abdur’Rahman was convicted and sentenced to death in 1987 in the killing of suspected drug dealer Patrick Daniels and the stabbing of Norma Jean Norman, who survived. After decades of legal fighting, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk asked the court to set aside the death sentence in 2019 because of prosecutorial misconduct and “overt racial bias” in jury selection. The trial court approved the resentencing, but the state appealed, and the Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the modification. In 2021, Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins overturned the death sentence for a second time. Rahman was resentenced to life in prison after the state decided not to challenge the second ruling.

James W. “Jim” Bell died May 15 at age 91. Originally from Lawrenceburg, Bell graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and practiced law in Knoxville until retirement. He also served on the Knox County Board of Education and became known as “School Board Bell” to distinguish himself from a lawyer with a similar name. According to his obituary, Bell obtained his pilot’s license in his 50s, learned Mandarin in his 70s and returned to Germany and found his old Army base at age 81. Bell will be interred Aug. 28 at 12:30 p.m. EDT at the East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, 2200 E. Gov. John Sevier Hwy., Knoxville, TN 37920. The family requests that memorial donations be made to the KREST Foundation at The Knoxville Racquet Club, 5535 Lonas Dr., Knoxville, TN 37909, “so kids in need can learn to play the sport Jim loved.”

Shelbyville attorney John R. Bumpus died June 7 at the age of 76. Bumpus earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law and practiced law throughout Tennessee. He served as a lawyer and administrative judge in Upper East Tennessee and Nashville for nearly 10 years before entering private practice. Earlier in his career, Bumpus worked as an attorney for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works Branch, practicing in Kentucky and Illinois. Bumpus was licensed to practice law in Tennessee and the District of Columbia and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, multiple courts of appeals and district courts. A graveside service was held June 11 at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Shelbyville. Memorial contributions may be made to the Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes in Brentwood or to Tennessee Baptist mission offerings.

Knoxville businessman and University of Tennessee College of Law (UT Law) graduate James Nicholas "Nic" Arning died June 3 at age 79. Arning earned his law degree from UT Law in 1974. After passing the bar, he assisted friends and clients with wills and other legal matters and occasionally served as appointed pro bono counsel for those in need. Rather than practicing law full time, Arning used his legal training to help grow his family's business, Arning Insurance Agency. The family will receive friends on June 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT at Rose Mortuary-Mann Heritage Chapel, 6200 Kingston Pike in Knoxville, followed by a graveside service at 2 p.m. at Edgewood Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Challenger Sports, c/o Knox Youth Sports, Lakeshore Park, 5908 Lyons View Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919.

Newport attorney Clyde Augustus “Scutter” Dunn died June 4 at age 88. Dunn earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law and spent nearly six decades serving clients in Newport. During his legal career, he also served as county attorney and president of the local bar association. Family and friends gathered June 7 at First United Methodist Church in Newport, where funeral services were held. Burial took place June 8 at Union Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to First United Methodist Church or the Newport Theatre Guild.

Retired U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla died May 15 at age 79. A visitation will be held on June 13 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. CDT at Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1720 Peabody Ave., Memphis 38104 in Trezevant Hall. At 11 a.m., a funeral service will celebrate the lives of McCalla and his wife, Mary, who died in April. A reception will follow at the University Club of Memphis, 1346 Central Ave., Memphis 38104. Memorial gifts may be made to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Otolaryngology Advancement Fund; Historic Archives of Rosemark and Environs Inc. by mail to 8671 Rosemark Rd., Millington, TN 38053; or Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church online or by mail at the address above.

Frank Gibson, founder and former executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (TCOG), died earlier this month. Gibson, a longtime Tennessee journalist and advocate for government transparency, founded the coalition in 2003 and served as its executive director until 2011, later remaining active on its board. During his career, he worked for more than four decades as a journalist at The Tennessean, serving as a reporter, city editor and political editor, and later became public policy director for the Tennessee Press Association. Gibson was widely recognized for his work advancing Tennessee’s public records and open meetings laws, including helping draft reforms to the Tennessee Public Records Act and co-authoring “Keys to Open Government,” a guide to the state’s sunshine laws.

Knoxville lawyer William Pennebaker “Boone” Dougherty died May 24 in Iowa. He attended Vanderbilt University and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1961. Following law school, Dougherty moved to Knoxville and practiced law with several firms, including Ambrose, Wilson and Saulpaw; Poore, Cox, Baker & McAuley; Bernstein, Dougherty & Susano; and Dougherty and Alliman. For more than 30 years he handled criminal defense, labor, environmental and coal mining matters. In 1965, Dougherty was appointed deputy law director for the city of Knoxville and served as city trial counsel and counsel for the city council until 1972. After retiring from private practice in 1991, he moved to Atlanta where he worked as an investigative reporter for a local newspaper. In 1993, he began a second career with the State of Georgia, trying cases for the Department of Human Resources. He retired for good in 2004, and in 2006, he moved to Iowa to be closer to his daughter.