Chattanooga lawyer Mark Johnson Mayfield died April 5 at the age of 91. A resident of Chattanooga since 1958, Mayfield received his law degree from the University of Tennessee, where he graduated first in his class and was a recipient of the Order of the COIF. He practiced law in Chattanooga for more than 40 years and was a member of the Chattanooga Bar Association. Memorial contributions may be made to Hearth Hospice, 513 Georgia Ave., Chattanooga, TN 37403.

James Warren Bradford, dean emeritus of the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, died on July 27. He was 76. Bradford earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida before earning his law degree at Vanderbilt. He served in the U.S. Air National Guard from 1969 to 1975 while stationed at Berry Field. He completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1997, while serving as CEO of AFG Industries. After earning his law degree, Bradford moved to Kingsport and practiced law at Hunter Smith & Davis from 1973 to 1984. He joined AFG industries Inc. as general counsel in 1984 and was named the company’s CEO in 1992. He left AFG in 1999 to serve as CEO of United Glass Corp. Bradford joined the faculty of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University in 2002 and was named dean in 2005. He retired in 2013.

Dyersburg attorney Charles Phillip "Phil" Bivens died July 20 at 71. Bivens worked as an attorney in private practice before taking office as district attorney general for Dyer and Lake counties, a position he held until retirement in 2018. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church, 220 Masonic St., Dyersburg 38024 on Aug. 3 at 3 p.m CDT. Visitation will be held from 1-3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to crisis pregnancy centers that support and facilitate adoption.

Nashville lawyer Mason Kirkpatrick “Kirk” Scobey Jr. died July 21 at 81. Scobey was born in Nashville and graduated from George Peabody College in 1964 with a bachelors degree in business administration and from the Nashville School of Law in 1974. After 27 years with Commerce Union Bank and its successors as senior vice president and manager of the Personal Trust Department, Scobey joined Equitable Securities Corporation. He retired in 2012 but continued to serve on the board as vice chairman through the end of 2022. There will be no public or memorial services.  

Pikeville lawyer James W. “Jimmy” Pope III, died Monday at age 59. Pope graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1986 with honors and earned his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1989, receiving the A. B. Neil Award for the outstanding Tennessee student. Pope served as a director for First Farmers and Commercial Bank as well as the lead prosecutor in the 9th Judicial District, which covers Loudon, Meigs, Morgan and Roane counties. A celebration of life was held at Pikeville Funeral Home Chapel, followed by a burial at Pikeville City Cemetery. 

Memphis lawyer Donna Elizabeth Dyer Smith died July 5 at the age of 76. Originally from Virginia, Smith moved frequently as the child of a military family. She finally settled in Memphis and went on to work for Southwestern University (now Rhodes College) and pharmaceutical company Schering Plough. Smith worked as a paralegal there while pursuing a law degree at the University of Memphis. She later joined Arcadian as corporate counsel, Guardsmark as vice president and finally, the Memphis office of the Internal Revenue Service. Visitation will be held on July 22 from 1-2 p.m. CDT at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38119. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.

Retired Chattanooga attorney Landon “Lanny” Haynes Goins, formerly of Signal Mountain, died in Colorado on July 4 after a brief illness. Goins, a 1966 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, began practicing law at his father’s firm of Goins, Gammon, Baker & Robinson. He later co-founded the firm of Goins & Carpenter. He retired in 2005 and moved to Colorado to be close to his daughters. Goins served on the Chattanooga Bar Association Board of Governors from 1980-1986 and as its president from 1984-1985. He also was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed camping and hunting throughout East Tennessee and fishing with friends in Canada. Memorial donations in his name may be made to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Visitation for former Democratic lawmaker Roy Herron will be held this Friday from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. CDT at First United Methodist Church, 225 Main St., Martin 38237. A service will take place following the visitation on Saturday at 2 p.m. Burial will be at Sunset Cemetery in Dresden at 400 Poplar St. A gathering celebrating Herron's life will take place after the burial. The location is tentatively set for Blake’s B-B-Que, 312 N. Lindell St. in Martin. The family also plans a celebration of Herron’s life in Nashville on Sept. 30. To RSVP for this weekend's funeral, please call Ashley at 731-364-5415. Memorial donations may be made to The Volunteer Center, c/o Mark Maddox, P.O. Box 5, Dresden, TN 38225; Vanderbilt University Cancer Center, c/o Nancy Miller-Herron, P.O. Box 5, Dresden, TN 38225; or Dresden First United Methodist Church Building Fund, 105 S. Church St., Dresden, TN 38225. See the previous story in TBA Today for more on Herron's life and career.

Dr. Catherine Burks-Brooks, a member of the Freedom Riders with a Nashville connection, has died at age 83. WPLN reports that she was among the Nashville students who joined the original 13 Freedom Riders in May 1961, after violent attacks by white mobs in Alabama. Burks-Brooks’ participation in the Freedom Rides led to her expulsion just nine days before graduation from Tennessee A & I, now Tennessee State University. She worked as a social worker and an entrepreneur before moving to the Bahamas in the 1970s. In 1979, she returned to Birmingham, where she served for many years as a substitute teacher in Birmingham City Schools. In 2008, Tennessee State University awarded her and the other expelled Freedom Riders an honorary doctorate.

Dresden attorney and former Democratic lawmaker Roy Herron passed away on Sunday due to injuries sustained in a jet ski accident on July 1. He was 69. The former chair of the Tennessee Democratic party, Herron served a combined 26 years in the state’s House and Senate, where he became floor leader and caucus chair for the Democrats. A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Herron was also one of the first students to earn joint degrees in divinity and law from Vanderbilt University. Herron is the author of three books, including "Things Held Dear: Soul Stories for My Sons." He recently attended TBA’s convention in Knoxville to participate in a book signing. TBA President Jim Barry says, “Roy was a credit to our profession and a great Tennessean. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends, and his family is in our thoughts and prayers.” Herron is survived by his wife of 36 years, Rev. Nancy Carol Miller-Herron, his three sons, John, Rick and Benjamin; his brother, Ben; and many cousins, nephews and nieces. Funeral arrangements are pending, but services are expected to be held on Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Martin.