TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Sep 18, 2020

Donald W. Spurrell, a World War II veteran, University of Alabama football player and patent attorney, died Sept. 9 in Johnson City from complications of COVID-19. He was 92. Spurrell completed a master’s degree in math before earning his law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. After graduating, he moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a patent examiner. He later moved to Rochester, New York, to work as a patent attorney with Eastman Kodak. Spurrell returned to Tennessee in 1966 but continued working for Kodak until he retired in 1986. He then continued to work for many years as an independent patent attorney. His son Donald E. Spurrell is also a lawyer in Johnson City. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Grace B. Spurrell Memorial Fund at the Johnson City Public Library or a charity of the donor’s choice.