Frank Buck, a former state representative, died yesterday at 80. Buck was born in 1943 in Trousdale County and graduated from Tennessee Technological University before receiving a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He first joined the law office of McAllen Foutch and later formed his own practice, Buck & Buck Attorneys, with his wife Lena. In 1972, Buck successfully ran for the General Assembly and represented District 40 for 36 years, retiring in 2005. While in the House, Buck served as chair of the House Judiciary and Conservation and Environment committees and vice chair of the Transportation Committee. The Tennessean has this in-depth look at his time in office. Buck was named Tennessean of the Year in 2005 and served four years as chair of the Tennessee Judicial Council. Visitation is scheduled at Love Cantrell Funeral Home, 100 East Church St., Smithville 37166 on Jan. 27 from 3-7 p.m. and on Jan. 28 from 11a.m.- 2p.m. CST. A celebration of life will follow the visitation on Jan. 28.

Retired General Sessions Judge Robert Donald "Don" Arnold died on Jan. 15 following a lengthy illness. He was 81. A native of Sullivan County, Arnold received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and settled in Johnson City, where he helped found the law firm of Hicks, Arnold, Haynes & Sanders in 1968. He served as a Johnson City commissioner and later as mayor in the late 1970s. A decade later, he was elected to represent the Third District in the Tennessee Senate, where he was named Republican leader. Later elected to preside over Washington County General Sessions Court Part III, Arnold retired in 2022 after nearly nine years on the bench. Memorial donations may be made to Families Free, a 501(c)3 organization designed to build better communities through the transformation of vulnerable families, especially those affected by incarceration, online at familiesfree.com, or by mail at P.O. Box 5645, Johnson City, TN 37602. Services were held Thursday.

Chattanooga attorney Samuel Lee Akers died Jan. 16 at age 80. A native of Chattanooga, he served in the Navy as an operational intelligence officer and then earned his law degree from the University of Memphis in 1974. A member of the Jaycees, Akers taught public speaking in Memphis high schools and won an Outstanding Young Men of America award. After serving as an FBI special agent, Akers was legal advisor for the bureau's Orlando and Cocoa Beach offices. He later was appointed Hamilton County Clerk & Master, serving 18 years before retiring in 2014. Akers was a member of the Chattanooga and the Tennessee Bar foundations. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer and the Spacekind Foundation: Cosmic Odyssey Scholarship. Akers will be interred at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

The University of Tennessee College of Law has announced the death of Professor Emerita Fran Ansley, a 1979 alumna of the law school. In a tribute posted on LinkedIn, the school writes that Ansley was a “brilliant scholar, a beloved teacher and colleague, and a person who made a difference in her community and the world.” In retirement, it continues, she remained active as a scholar, collaborator and change agent. In 2023, the Tennessee Law Review honored Ansley’s work with a symposium titled “Working toward Justice on Difficult Ground." It highlighted three aspects of her work: plant closings and the global economy, justice for migrants and the future of teaching and learning about America’s past. Read tributes posted on the account or leave your own remembrance. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Monroe S. David, 85, died Dec. 28, 2023, after a medical procedure. David graduated from Valparaiso University in 1960 with a degree in business administration. He received his law degree from the John Marshall Law School (now the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law) and passed the Illinois bar exam in 1965. After a long and successful career in business, during which he became vice president of personnel for Kraft Foods, he returned to the law, passing the Tennessee bar exam in 1993. David moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, in 2017. A memorial service and inurnment will be held on Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. EST at King of Glory Lutheran Church, 4897 Longhill Rd., Williamsburg 23188. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the music ministry of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Williamsburg.

Elmore Nickelberry, a civil rights activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died Saturday, Local Memphis reports. Nickelberry was one of the last surviving Memphis Sanitation Workers who went on strike for better working conditions in 1968 after two fellow workers were accidently killed. The strike drew King to Memphis where he marched in solidarity with the workers before being assassinated in April 1968. After the strike was settled, Nickleberry remained a sanitation worker for the city, retiring in 2018.

Civil rights activist King Madison Hollands, a leader in the 1960s Nashville Student Movement to racially integrate the region, died Dec. 20, reports the Tennessee Lookout. Hollands was 82. Hollands was among the first 14 Black students to attend Father Ryan High School in 1954 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v. Board of Education declared racial segregation in schools unconstitutional. Hollands' later campaigned for improvements to the Edgehill neighborhood where he grew up and worked to preserve African American history in Nashville. Memorial service information has not yet been announced.

Brentwood attorney Oscar B. Hofstetter III died Dec. 7, 2023, at the age of 82. A native Nashvillian, Hofstetter attended Father Ryan High School, Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee and Nashville School of Law. He entered the family law firm of Hofstetter & Hofstetter where he practiced until he retired. Hofstetter was active in several groups, including the Collectors of Moon and Stars Pattern Glass Society, Sons of the American Revolution and Sons of the Confederate Veterans. A memorial service will be held Friday at East Brentwood Presbyterian Church, 9000 Concord Rd., Brentwood, 37027 at 11 a.m. CST. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the church.

Chicago-area lawyer Philip Pomerance died Dec. 9 at the age of 67. A graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, he began his practice in the Chicago area. He also lectured across the country on health care law and legal ethics, and taught at Loyola University’s Beasley Institute for Health Law. In 2007, he left private practice to become the chief operating officer and general counsel for Best Practices Inpatient Care Ltd. in Long Grove, Illinois. He retired in 2017 due to health issues. Pomerance was a longtime speaker at the TBA’s Health Law Forum, presenting on legal ethics at no fewer than 20 seminars. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be sent to Congregation Kneseth Israel, 330 Division St., Elgin, IL, 60120, or to the animal shelter of the donor’s choice.

Johnson City lawyer Frederic Brandt died Sunday. He was 88. Brandt was a lifelong resident of Johnson City. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee in 1957 and served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves before graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Brandt served on several non-profit boards, including the Johnson City Boys Club and the Tennessee Mental Health Association. A celebration of life will be held next spring. To receive notification of services, contact the Morris-Baker funeral home at 423-282-1521 or by email at info@morrisbaker.com.