Retired Sullivan County Chancellor E.G. Moody died June 16 at the age of 79 years. Moody earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1971 and practiced with the Kingsport law firm of Hawkins, Moody, Bingham and Miller for 35 years. He was elected to the 2nd Judicial District Chancery Court in September 2006 and retired in 2022 after 16 years of service. Among his professional accomplishments, Moody presided over the landmark “Baby Doe” case against opioid manufacturers, which yielded a $35 million settlement. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to The Crumley House, 300 Urbana Rd., Limestone, TN 37681, or a charity of the donor’s choice. Read reflections from those who worked with him from WJHL.

William Hance “Bill” Lassiter Jr., a long time Nashville attorney, died June 21 in Franklin after a short illness. He was 85. Originally from Huntingdon, Lassiter graduated from the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Law School. He started his career with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office in 1963 and of most recently was with Belcher, Sykes Harrington, a firm he helped found. Visitation will be Wednesday from 4-6 p.m. CDT and Thursday at 3 p.m. at Otter Creek Church, 409 Franklin Rd., Brentwood 37027. Funeral services will take place on Thursday at 4 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Wayne Reed Christian Childcare Center, 11 Lindsley Ave. B, Nashville, TN 37210.

Bowlman "Bo" Tarleton Bowles Jr. died June 9 at age 86. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and accepted a commission in the Army as an infantry officer after graduation. Bowles went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University Law School, joining the law firm of Mays & Valentine where he practiced for 15 years. In 1980, he formed his own practice, which he developed with his son, Churchill, into Bowles Affiliates. Bowles served as chair of the American Bar Association Committee on Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates, and was a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, as well as the Virginia and Tennessee bar associations. Burial services at Hollywood Cemetery will be private with a celebration of life reception to be held at a future date. Memorial donations may be made to the VMI Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 932, Lexington, VA 24450.

Nashville attorney Joe Curry Peel died June 19 at age 81. He received his bachelor of arts and master of theology degrees from Vanderbilt University, and did graduate theological study at St. Michael’s College in Toronto, Canada. Peel taught at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, as well as Montgomery Bell Academy and Battle Ground Academy. He also worked for IBM before attending the University of Tennessee College of Law. Peel practiced for a few years at King & Ballow in Nashville. He then served for 39 years in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. He became a recognized expert in the fields of state and local taxation, interstate commerce and constitutional law. Services will be held at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 4715 Harding Pk., Nashville 37205 on June 27 at 11:30 a.m. CDT with visitation beginning at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the In Excelsis Concert Series at St. George's Episcopal Church of Nashville or to the charity of one’s choice.

Services have been set for Knoxville lawyer and former TBA Board of Governors member Jack Humphreys “Nick” McCall Jr., who died April 13 at the age of 63. A celebration of life will be held July 14 from 1-4 p.m. EDT at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum, 2743 Wimpole Ave., Knoxville 37914. Memorial donations may be made to Legal Aid of East Tennessee, 100 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Ste. 402, Chattanooga, TN 37402 or East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association (ETVMA), PO Box 3714, Knoxville, TN 37927. Read TBA's news of his passing in April.

Civil Rights activist and pioneer in nonviolent protest, James Lawson, died yesterday at the age of 95, according to the Tennessean. Lawson inspired a generation of activists in the earliest days of the Civil Rights Movement, including helping to organize the movement to desegregate lunch counters in Nashville. Imprisoned as a conscientious objector during the Korean War in the early 1950s, Lawson was also kicked out of Vanderbilt University and arrested for organizing student demonstrations. During his incarceration, he said he learned about the nonviolent protests led by Mohandas Ghandi in India. In 1960, Lawson drafted the first purpose statement for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an organization led by Nashville students. In 1961, he was arrested during a freedom ride and held in a Mississippi prison for weeks. Lawson was working on the sanitation strike in Memphis in 1968 and called Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to participate, then leading marches in the wake of King’s death. In 2006, Vanderbilt invited Lawson back to the school as a divinity professor. The university later purchased his writings and photographs, and in 2021, launched the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements.

A Celebration of Life service for former Judge R. Leon Jordan will be held June 28 at 10 a.m. CDT in the Howard Baker Jr. Courthouse, 800 Market St., Knoxville 37902. Jordan was confirmed to the federal bench in 1988 and served as senior U.S. district judge from 2001 until late 2023. He died in February at age 89.

Kevin Gene Steiling of Franklin died May 25 at the age of 69. A 1983 graduate of the Boston College Law School, Steiling moved to Nashville and began his lengthy career at the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. From 1983 to 2016, he served as an assistant attorney general and then a deputy attorney general working on civil rights, employment discrimination and contract and construction litigation with jury and non-jury trials in federal and all state courts and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Steiling also spent three years working in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office as an assistant attorney general in the Trial Division/Real Estate Section, handling eminent domain cases. A memorial gathering will be held on June 8 from 1-4 p.m. at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home, 3009 Columbia Ave., Franklin 37064.

Richard Randolph Ruth Jr. of Walden died May 25 at the age of 86. Originally from Pennsylvania, Ruth earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1965. He practiced in Chattanooga from 1965 until 2002, including time with the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office; Luther, Anderson, Ruth & Cleary; Ruth & Foster; and Ruth & McCarthy. After retiring, Ruth volunteered with the Legal Aid of East Tennessee and was instrumental in advocating for the Tennessee Supreme Court’s adoption of the “Pro Bono Emeritus Rule” in 2010, which provides special status to retired attorneys who volunteer to assist indigent clients. Ruth also was honored with the Jac Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chattanooga Bar Association in 2010. A private memorial service will be held for the family. Memorial contributions may be made to Legal Aid of East Tennessee, National Kidney Foundation or Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum.

Kingsport attorney Julia C. West died May 16 at age 85. She graduated from East Tennessee State University (ETSU) with a degree in English and master's degree in English Literature. West went on to pursue a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and began practicing law in 1992. Her legal career spanned more than two decades, focusing on government tort liability. She was a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Kingsport Bar Association, serving as its president in 2000. Services will be held at 1 p.m. EDT on May 23 at Oak Hill Memorial Park, 800 Truxton Dr., Kingsport 37660. A memorial service will follow at 1:30 p.m. at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home, 117 E. Charlemont Ave. The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Julia C. West Foundation, established to continue West's legacy by supporting local education and arts, as well as efforts to support animal welfare. Donations should be addressed to Julia C. West Foundation, 537 E. Center St., Kingsport, TN 37660.