Knoxville lawyer Gaither Wilson Horde Jr. died Feb. 9 at 97. Horde grew up in Nashville and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Following military service, he attended Peabody College and Vanderbilt Law School, receiving his law degree in 1951. Horde began practicing law in Knoxville with Stone, Bozeman & Horde before serving as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He later served as general counsel for Union Carbide Nuclear Division and Lockheed Martin Energy Systems. He finished his legal career at Kramer Rayson, where he retired at the age of 90. From 2011 to 2015, Horde served on the TBA’s House of Delegates. Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army of Knoxville, P.O. Box 669, Knoxville, TN 37901-0669.

Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Leon Jordan died on Feb. 27 at age 89. A 1960 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Jordan began his law practice in Nashville with the firm of Goodpasture, Carpenter, Dale and Woods. In 1971, he was named  a partner in the Johnson City law firm of Bryant, Price, Brandt, Jordan and Fox. In 1980, then-Gov. Lamar Alexander appointed Jordan to the 1st Judicial District Chancery Court. He was elected to a full term on the court in 1982. Jordan was confirmed to the federal bench in 1988. He took senior status in 2001. Jordan also served for several years as chair of the planning committee of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference. In 2004, he was elected president of the Sixth Circuit District Judges Association. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Federal Bar Association of the court’s Northeastern Division. In 2014, he received the Judicial Excellence Award from the Knoxville Bar Association. Memorial donations be made to Men of Valor, 504 Valor Way, Antioch, TN 37013 or online at men-of-valor.org.

Carroll County lawyer Robert “Bob” Taylor Keeton Jr., died Feb. 24 at age 87. Keeton earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and joined Jimmy Lee Taylor in private practice. He also served for many years as the attorney for Carroll County and its Electric Department and Watershed Authority. He also represented the towns of Huntingdon and  Bruceton and the Hollow Rock-Bruceton Special School District. Keeton was a member of a number of legal organizations and served as president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association from 1981-1982 and Tennessee County Attorneys Association from 2001-2002. Memorial donations may be made to the Shriners Hospital, 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607; Bruceton First United Methodist Church, 148 Pine St. N., Bruceton, TN 38317; or the donor’s charity of choice.

Knoxville attorney Jack H. "Nick" McCall Jr., 63, died April 13 on the final day of his family vacation in the Bahamas. McCall was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, serving as a Regular Army captain before receiving his law degree from the University of Tennessee, where he served as editor in chief of the Tennessee Law Review. He was of counsel with Hunton & Williams’ Knoxville office from 1994 to 2003, and served as general counsel and secretary of CTI Molecular Imaging Inc. from 2003 to 2005. During that time, he taught as an adjunct professor at UT Law. The author of various articles on legal, foreign policy and historical topics, and the author/co-author of three books, McCall served on the TBA Board of Governors as well as on the Knoxville Bar Association Board, and the founding board of Legal Aid of East Tennessee. He was a member of the TBA’s Leadership Law Class of 2005, among other honors, awards, activities and community service roles. In his last position, McCall served as a senior attorney and deputy designated agency ethics official with the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, from which he retired in 2021.

Maria Jeannette Merrill of Columbus, Indiana, died on Feb. 19 at age 62. She earned a degree in nursing from the University of Evansville, a master’s degree in nursing education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a law degree from the Nashville School of Law. Merrill worked at Lincoln Health System in Fayetteville as the chief legal officer and for the Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga for 18 years where she served as a clinical nurse specialist and later as the privacy program manager. Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692.

Memphis attorney William Michael “Mike” Richards, age 77, died on March 12 after a long illness. Following his graduation with distinction from Rhodes College (then Southwestern), he obtained his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School and joined Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, where he practiced for 50 years. Richards served as vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association and president of the Memphis Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

Nashville lawyer Richard Warren Sebastian died on Feb. 9 at the age of 59. Sebastian attended Battle Ground Academy, Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville School of Law, graduating with his law degree in 1992. He started with the law firm of Ortale Kelley in 1988, serving as a runner while a law student. He later joined the firm as an attorney and went on to serve as managing partner for 18 years. His practice focused in the areas of real estate law, commercial transactions and corporate law. Sebastian volunteered as counsel to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville and the Tennessee Association of Construction. In 2022, he was named Habitat for Humanity’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. Memorial donations may be made to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville, 414 Harding Pl., Ste. 100, Nashville, TN 37211 or the donor’s charity of choice.

Memphis lawyer Joe “Max” Shelton, died March 17 after a sudden brain hemorrhage. He was 84. Shelton graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1964 and began working as a health care attorney. He later was a founding member of the Memphis law firm of Harris Shelton Hanover Walsh. He personally represented Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis his entire career. Shelton also was a founding member of the Tennessee Society of Hospital Attorneys, which later became the TBA’s Health Law Section, and was active in organizing and participating in the TBA’s annual Ski CLE program. In the local legal community, he served as president of the Memphis Bar Association and was the 2014 recipient of the Pillars of Excellence Award from the University of Memphis Alumni Association’s Law Chapter. Memorial donations may be made to the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, 350 N. Humphreys Blvd., Memphis, TN 38120 or online at www.bmhgiving.org. |||