Former Tennessee state legislator and retired lawyer Bill Bruce died recently at the age of 90. A native of Virginia, Bruce moved to Memphis in the 1960s to practice law. He later was elected to the state House of Representatives and then the state Senate. Bruce retired from the legislature in in the early 1970s and moved his law practice to Nashville. He joined Stokes & Bartholomew and launched the firm’s government relations practice. He supported the merger with Adams & Reese in 2005, and facilitated discussions with Armstrong Allen, which led to an expansion to Memphis in 2006. Burce retired from active practice not long thereafter and moved to the Georgia coast. Arrangements are pending for a memorial service in the coming weeks. Read more from Adams & Reese.

Nashville attorney Lawrence Richard "Larry" Ahern III died March 18 at age 79. He received his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1972. He went on to practice at several firms, including Miller & Martin, Bass, Berry & Sims, and Burr & Forman. Later in his career, he served as a consultant and expert witness on bankruptcy, commercial and real estate matters before taking retired partner status in 2023 at Brown & Ahern, the firm he cofounded. Ahern was a longtime member of the TBA’s Bankruptcy Section Executive Council and served as an adjunct professor at multiple law schools. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date with arrangements by Marshall-Donnelly-Combs Funeral Home.

Evalina Casey Cheadle died March 3 at the age of 69. Cheadle was born April 10, 1956, in Virginia and was raised in Nashville. She graduated from Harpeth Hall School and Vanderbilt University. After spending eight years as a special education teacher with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, she attended the Nashville School of Law. She earned her law degree and started her own law firm in 1988. In addition to maintaining a legal career until her death, Cheadle served for many years as a proctor for the Tennessee Bar Examination and was a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Nashville Bar Association. Visitation will be Friday from 1-2 p.m. CDT at Mount Olivet Funeral Home, 1101 Lebanon Pike, Nashville 37210. Burial will follow at 2 p.m CDT at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the John Cheadle Mitchell Scholarship Fund at the Nashville School of Law. The fund honors Cheadle's son, who preceded her in death.

Murfreesboro attorney Dewey Russell Thomas died March 5 at age 73. Thomas was a personal injury litigator and operated his practice, The Thomas Law Firm, for more than 48 years. He also was a member of the Rutherford and Cannon County Bar Association and a former president of Andrew Jackson American Inns of Court. Funeral services were held today at Bradyville Church of Christ in Bradyville followed by interment at Thyatira Cemetery in Readyville. Donations may be made to Alive Hospice of Murfreesboro or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Bernard LaFayette, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, died March 5 at age 85. He came from Florida to Nashville in 1958 to study at American Baptist College, then the American Baptist Theological Seminary. LaFayette co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960 and under his leadership, Nashville became the first Southern city to desegregate public spaces. Lafayette and other civil rights icons staged their first sit-in at Harveys Department Store in downtown Nashville. The sit-in movement grew, and the first large-scale effort happened Feb. 13, 1960, at Woolworths, S.H. Kress and McLellan stores. He joined the Freedom Rides in 1961 and directed the Alabama Voter Registration Project, later becoming involved with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. LaFayette served as president of American Baptist College from 1992-1999. The Tennessean has more on his life.

Memphis lawyer Byrd Douglas Earthman died Feb. 19 at the age of 76. Originally from Kingsport, Earthman moved to Nashville as a child when his father, an attorney, took a job with the Gov. Frank Clement administration. After receiving his law degree in 1973 from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Earthman began a 20-year career with the Waring Cox law firm. He later served as a senior vice president at ServiceMaster Diversified Health Services. He returned to private practice at Armstrong Allen and finished his legal career at Glankler Brown. Earthman focused his private practice on municipal bonds and real estate matters. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice or the Earthman-Lambeth Family Fund with the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly (choose "Make a Gift" at the bottom of the page and then click on "use this donation as a memorial gift" and specify the fund name in the special instructions field).

Dickson Judge Shipp Robbley Weems died Nov. 14, 2025, at age 77. While attending the Nashville YMCA Night Law School (now Nashville School of Law), Weems was a teacher at White Bluff Elementary School. At the age of 29, he became the youngest Dickson city judge of record. In 1986, he established the state's first Public Defender Pilot Program. Following its success, the state adopted the model, leading to the creation of the Public Defender’s Office as it exists today. Weems also served as the elected public defender in Dickson County and surrounding counties for several decades, then served as assistant public defender in Columbia and its surrounding counties until retirement. In 2025, Weems’ daughter established the Weems-Rezapour Family Scholarship for Justice and Public Service in his honor. The scholarship supports high school seniors in Florida (where she lives and practices) who demonstrate integrity, civic engagement and a commitment to careers connected to justice and community leadership. Donations in Weems’ memory can be made here.

Nashville attorney Joseph “Joe” Micajah Boyd Jr. died Feb. 10 at 97. Raised on a farm in Dyer County, Boyd served on active duty in the U.S. Navy before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School in 1956 and returning to Dyersburg to practice law. He served as chair of the Dyer County Election Commission and as the first director of the Dyersburg Housing Authority, where he advocated for equality and civil rights during desegregation. In 1991, he was appointed district attorney general for the 29th Judicial District, a role he held for nearly two years. He moved to Nashville in 1993 to become general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health, where he served until his retirement. Boyd was buried in a private ceremony Feb. 13 at the Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. CST Feb. 28, at Belmont United Methodist Church, 2007 Acklen Ave., Nashville 37212. Donations may be made to Operation Stand Down Tennessee or Belmont United Methodist Church.

Nashville native and retired General Sessions Judge John P. Brown was remembered for his legacy of service and compassion at services this week. Brown, who died on Feb. 14 at the age of 84, graduated from the University of Tennessee Pharmacy School in 1964 and joined the family business, J.P. Brown Drugstores. He later helped build the business into Nashville’s largest independent pharmacy. Brown earned his law degree from the Nashville YMCA Night Law School (now Nashville School of Law) in 1969 and opened a law office in Green Hills, handing a variety of civil and criminal matters. In 1982, he was elected to the Davidson County General Sessions Court and served there until retiring in 2006. After retiring, he continued to serve as a senior judge and spent a year in the Republic of Georgia training judges on the rule of law.

Nashville attorney Loren Kathryne Gower Kirkpatrick died Feb. 10 at age 81. Kirkpatrick earned her law degree from the Nashville School of Law and worked at Red Kap Industries and J.C. Bradford & Co. She ultimately spent most of her career with — and retired from — Sanders Manufacturing Company, a family-owned specialty advertising company founded by her maternal grandfather and his two brothers. Donations may be made in Kirkpatrick's memory to Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue or Breakthrough T1D. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.