Charles B. Dungan Jr. of Maryville died Jan. 11 at the age of 73. Dungan graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1965. He served as a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Office of the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. He later settled in Maryville. During his career, Dungan held several key positions including circuit court judge, assistant district attorney and member of the public defender’s office. For the last 25 years, he was a partner in the firm now known as Dungan, Meares & Webb. A celebration of life will be held Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. at the Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville. Memorial donations may be made to the Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine, 750 E. Pratt St., 17th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. The Daily Times has more on his life.

Jerry A. Farmer of Powell died Saturday (Jan. 10) at the age of 72. A 1967 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Farmer worked in private practice before becoming the youngest deputy law director in Knoxville history. He later worked for several law firms before founding the law firm of Fox and Farmer with James D. Fox in 1987. Visitation will be held Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Sharon Baptist Church in Knoxville with a funeral service at 7 p.m. Family and friends will meet at 1:45 p.m. Thursday at the church cemetery for a 2 p.m. interment. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the church, located at 7916 Pedigo Rd., Knoxville 37938. Condolences may be left on the Weaver Funeral Home’s website.

Retired 15th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge and former assistant district attorney general Bobby Harold Capers died Saturday (Jan. 10) at the age of 72, the Wilson Post reports. Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Victory Baptist Church on Tate Lane in Mt. Juliet. Visitation will be Tuesday from 2 to 8 p.m. at Bond Memorial Chapel and Wednesday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the church. Interment will follow the funeral at Mt. Juliet Memorial Gardens. Memorials may be made to Jewel Presley Capers Alliance.

Well-known Tennessee trial lawyer Curtis Freeman “Curt” Hopper of Savannah died Jan. 9 after a 16 month battle with lung cancer. He was 51. A 1992 graduate of the Nashville School of Law, Hopper practiced with Hopper & Plunk until 2002 when he went into solo practice with a focus on criminal defense and domestic relations. Hopper also served as the Hardin County attorney from 2002 until 2014. He was a member of the Hardin Bar Association, Tennessee County Attorneys Association, Tennessee Criminal Defense Attorneys and the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Darryl Worley Cancer Center. The Tennessean has more on his life.

William Bruce “Bill” Bradley died Thursday (Dec. 11) at the age of 81, the Tennessean reports. After graduating from Southern Methodist University, Bradley worked at Aetna Life in Dallas and was president of Hermitage Life in Nashville. He earned a law degree from Nashville School of Law and formed Brentwood Law and two local banks. He served as president of the Williamson County Bar Association and was a founding member of the John Marshall Inn of Court, founding president of the Brentwood Exchange Club and chair of the Davidson County Republican Party. Visitation will be Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Harpeth Presbyterian Church, 3077 Hillsboro Rd., Brentwood, TN 37027. The funeral will take place Saturday at 1 p.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the church.

Fred M. Leonard died Nov. 28 at the age of 78. A TBA Senior Counselor living in Bristol, Leonard graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1964. Private family services will be held at a later date.

Retired Bradley County General Sessions Court Judge Andrew Franklin Bennett Jr. died last Thursday (Nov. 27) after a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. He was 77. A native and longtime resident of Cleveland, Bennett served nine years in the U.S. Army before earning his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1973. After law school, he worked as an attorney in Knox and Bradley counties. Bennett was elected to the bench in 1981 and served in that capacity for 24 years, retiring in 2006. The family will receive friends tomorrow (Dec. 2) from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Cleveland, 1275 Stuart Rd. On Wednesday, Judge Bennett will lie in state from 1 to 2 p.m. at the church, followed by a remembrance of life service at 2 p.m. Interment will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens with full military honors. The North Ocoee Chapel of Jim Rush Funeral Homes is handling arrangements.

Visitation for longtime public defender Bethel Campbell Smoot, who died Tuesday (Nov. 21) at the age of 78, will be held Saturday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kilgore Funeral Home in Tullahoma. Services will be held Sunday in the funeral home chapel at 1:30 p.m. 

Longtime Knoxville lawyer Charles Bailey Lewis died Nov. 16 from chronic illness. He was 84. After graduating high school, Lewis served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He later graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and was one of the founding members of the law firm now known as Lewis Thomason PC. He served as chairman of the board of the predecessor firm that bore his name for many years. During his tenure, the firm grew in membership from three lawyers to the now approximately 90 lawyers at offices in Memphis, Knoxville, Nashville and Sevierville. A memorial service will be held Saturday at Central Baptist Church of Bearden. The family will receive friends in the sanctuary from 10 a.m. until the service begins at noon. A celebration of Lewis’ life will follow at Cherokee Country Club. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in Lewis' name be made to the Alzheimer's Association or a non-profit organization of your choice.

Longtime public defender Bethel Campbell Smoot died yesterday (Nov. 18) at his home, according to the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference. Smoot served as the 14th Judicial District public defender representing Coffee County for 25 years. He was first appointed to the post in 1989 by then-governor Ned McWherter and was re-elected without opposition in subsequent years. Smoot earned his undergraduate degree in forestry and a master’s in wood technology, and worked as a land surveyor and instructor at the Auburn University Department of Forestry before attending law school. Smoot graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1972 and worked as an assistant district attorney general for one year and then joined the Tullahoma firm of Hanes, Hull, Smoot & Reider until being named to the public defender post. Smoot completed two terms as president of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference and served on the TBA Board of Governors during those years as the group’s representative. A 2013 profile in the Tullahoma News captured Smoot's commitment to and pride in his work. Funeral information was pending at press time, though the Kilgore Funeral Home in Tullahoma will be handling arrangements.