Memphis lawyer Scott Fitzhugh May Sr. died July 7 at the age of 83. A graduate of Auburn University and Vanderbilt University Law School, May practiced law in Memphis for more than 50 years. An avid outdoorsman, he spent summers in the Cumberland Plateau hiking, camping, caving and exploring waterfalls. He also took up kayaking, whitewater rafting and scuba diving. A memorial service will be held July 31 at 10 a.m. CDT at Second Presbyterian Church, 4055 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38111. The family will receive visitors from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. that day. Memorial contributions may be made to the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly’s Nature Trails, 1 Assembly Ave., P.O. Box 307, Monteagle, TN 37356 or the Memphis University School, 6191 Park Ave., Memphis, TN 38119.

Memphis attorney Gerald Patrick "Pat" Arnoult died this month at the age of 88. Arnoult earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University in 1966 and went on to build a legal career in Memphis that spanned nearly five decades. His practice focused on civil litigation, including both trial and appellate work, with an emphasis on business litigation and estate administration. Arnoult also served as president of the Memphis Bar Association and was a fellow of both the Tennessee Bar Foundation and the Memphis Bar Foundation. He retired in 2014. A visitation will be held July 18 at 10 a.m. CDT at St. Louis Catholic Church, 203 S. White Station Rd., Memphis 38117, followed by a funeral Mass. A reception celebrating Arnoult's life will follow at the church. Memorial donations may be made to Christian Brothers High School or St. Louis Catholic Church.

Former Hamilton County Circuit Court Clerk Judith Pitts Medearis has died. A lifelong county resident, Medearis graduated from Tennessee Wesleyan College and began her career in 1961 as a deputy clerk in the Circuit Court Clerk's Office. She was promoted to acting chief deputy in 1969, and later became chief deputy before being elected circuit court clerk in 1978. She served 14 years in the position. Medearis retired in 2002 after 38 years of service to the county. During her tenure, she introduced the state's first call-in system for jurors to determine whether they needed to report for service, a model later adopted by other counties. She also implemented a new filing system to improve case retrieval and oversaw the office's transition to a fully automated system to accommodate growing caseloads. Visitation will be held July 16 from 4 to 8 p.m. EDT at Williamson & Sons Funeral Home in Soddy Daisy. A private graveside service for immediate family will be held July 18 at Hamilton Memorial Gardens.

Homer L. Deakins, a founding member of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC (now Ogletree Deakins) died earlier this week at age 90. From an initial team of 16 attorneys in Greenville, South Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia, the firm has grown to more than 1,100 lawyers across 60 offices globally, with offices in Memphis and Nashville. Deakins served as the firm's managing shareholder from 1985 to 2001. Ogletree Deakins in 2014 established the Homer Deakins Service Award, which recognizes individuals who exemplify selfless service and inspire others through courageous action. Since its inception, the firm has donated over $300,000 to charitable organizations on behalf of award recipients.

Former state Sen. James Dolan "Jim" Tracy died July 3 at age 69. He represented Tennessee's 14th Senate District, which includes Bedford and Moore counties and part of Rutherford County. During his time in the General Assembly, Tracy served as assistant floor leader of the Senate Republican Caucus, chaired the Senate Transportation Committee and served on the Senate Education Committee and the Senate State and Local Government Committee. Among the legislation Tracy sponsored was Tennessee's statewide smoking ban for most indoor public places and workplaces, which took effect in 2007. He retired from the Tennessee Senate in 2020 after being appointed by President Donald Trump as Tennessee state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office. Services will be held July 7 at North Boulevard Church of Christ, 1112 N. Rutherford Blvd., Murfreesboro 37130, with visitation beginning at 10 a.m. CDT followed by a funeral service at 1 p.m. Fox17 News has remembrances on Tracy's life and career.

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.