Carleton “Carl” Edward Knechtel, 86, of Dallas, Texas, died Jan. 23. Born in Fortaleza, Brazil, to missionary parents, he held triple citizenship at birth by virtue of being born in Brazil to a Canadian father and American mother. After a varied 20-year career, Knechtel received his law degree from University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1971. He worked for more than 31 years as an attorney in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel for the Criminal Tax Division, initially in Chicago for 15 years and then in Dallas for 16 years. Following his retirement from public service in 2003, Knechtel practiced law in the Dallas area on a limited basis and served as an expert witness in criminal tax trials. A visitation will be held on Feb. 14 at Chattanooga Funeral Home - North Chapel, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson 37343, from 1–2:30 p.m. EST with a services immediately following. Interment will follow at Hamilton Memorial Gardens, 5351 Highway 153, Hixson 37343. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Knechtel's memory to the Salvation Army or a local food bank.

Robert William “Bob” Godwin died Jan. 26 at the age of 84. A graduate of the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law, Godwin joined the JAG Corps and later practiced law for 55 years in Fountain City. He referred to himself as “a simple country lawyer.” A celebration of life was held Feb. 7 at Hexagon Brewing. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Young Williams Animal Center, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the ACLU or National Immigrant Legal Service.

Greene County Juvenile Court Magistrate David Leonard died Jan. 20 at the age of 57. A graduate of the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law, Leonard served in the magistrate role from 2006-2009 and again from 2012 to the present. He was remembered at a gathering in Afton on Jan. 28. Memorial donations may be made to the Isaiah 117 House, 1390 Birdwell Mill Rd., Greeneville, TN 37743 or the Greeneville Humane Society, 400 N. Rufe Taylor Rd., Greeneville, TN 37745. Read reflections from those who worked with Leonard in the Greeneville Sun.

Memphis attorney Robert Miles Mason Sr. died Feb. 1 at age 61 after a long battle with cancer. He received his law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1994. A Memphis native, Mason founded Miles Mason Law Group PLC and was a certified public accountant. Mason served on the Tennessee Bar Journal's Editorial Board from 2003-2006 and as chair of the TBA's Family Law Section. He received the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing in 2024 for his article “You Are the Father!: Untangling Custody Rights in Tennessee Between Unmarried Parents,” which appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of the Journal. Mason’s father-in-law, the late Judge Joe B. Jones, was the first recipient of the award in 1981. A funeral Mass will be held Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. at St. Peter Catholic Church, 190 Adams Ave., Memphis 38103, preceded by the rosary at 11:30 a.m. and visitation at noon. Burial will take place at 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Park Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave., Memphis 38119. All times CST. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mason's name to Christian Brothers High School or the Orpheum Theatre Group.

Bristol lawyer Myers Newton Massengill died Jan. 19 at the age of 84. A 1964 graduate of the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law, Massengill practiced law for over 55 years. He was active in several legal and civic organizations, including serving as president of the Bristol Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association for Northeast Tennessee and Rocky Mount Historic Association. He also previously served as chair of the Salvation Army Board of Bristol and as a board member of the United Way of Bristol. A funeral service will be held on Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. EST at State Street United Methodist Church. Visitation will take place at the church before the service from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Memorial contributions may be sent to the church at 650 Valley Dr., Bristol, VA 24201 or the Salvation Army of Bristol, 137 M.L.K. Blvd., Bristol, TN 37620.

Former state Rep. Dr. Tommie F. Brown, D-Chattanooga died Tuesday at age 91, The Chattanoogan reports. Brown served in the Tennessee legislature for 20 years and was the first African American to lead a department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). She represented her district in the state House of Representatives from 1992 to 2012. Brown also was the lead plaintiff in the landmark 1987 Brown v. Board of Commissioners of Chattanooga lawsuit, which resulted in a federal court ruling that the city’s at-large voting system violated the Voting Rights Act and significant changes in Chattanooga’s form of government. An elementary school on the UTC campus is named in her honor, and her personal and professional papers are housed in the UTC Library’s Special Collections.

Nashville attorney John Randolph "Randy" Bibb Jr. died Jan. 9 after a brief illness. Bibb earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School. Bibb joined the Nashville office of Lewis Thomason in 2009 and played an integral role in the firm’s growth and success. He served as co-leader of the firm’s Products Liability Practice Group for more than 10 years. A funeral mass was held at the Cathedral of the Incarnation with burial following at Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Dominican Campus, Attn: Development, 4210 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN 37205.

James Theodore "Jim" Bland Jr. died Nov. 27 in Florida at the age of 75. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in accountancy in 1972 from the University of Memphis and a law degree from the university’s Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1974. Bland began his career working at the Internal Revenue Service as an estate and gift tax attorney before joining the law firm of Armstrong, Allen, Prewitt, Gentry, Johnston and Holmes. He later opened his own private practice. Bland was active in the Tennessee legal community serving as president of the Federal Bar Association's Memphis chapter from 1979-1980, as a charter fellow and president of the Memphis Bar Foundation, as president of the TBA Young Lawyers Conference (the precursor organization to the Young Lawyers Division) from 1984-1985, and on the TBA Board of Governors from 1990-1991. On the national level, he served as the youngest president of the Federal Bar Association from 1987-1988. After retiring, Bland moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands but returned to Memphis in 2015 and finally settled in Florida in 2017. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or Wesleyan Hills United Methodist Church in Memphis.

Judge Kevin Wilson, who presided over Collegedale Municipal Court for more than three decades, died Jan. 9, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Wilson, a 1981 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, was first elected in 1990, defeating incumbent Ray Dodson. It was the inaugural year the position was decided by popular vote after the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled the prior appointment system was unconstitutional according to the paper. Wilson was serving his fifth eight-year term at the time of his death. He had been reelected in 1998, 2006, 2014 and 2022. Wilson was an active member of the Chattanooga Bar Association, the Tennessee Municipal Judges Conference and the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conferences. Prior to joining the bench, he practiced for one year in Knoxville before opening the practice of Wilson & Wilson in 1982 in Chattanooga with his wife, Scarlett T. Wilson. In 2002, the firm name was changed to Kevin B. Wilson Law Offices. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Lewis "Lew" H. Conner Jr. died Jan. 4 at age 87. Connor attended Vanderbilt University for both his undergraduate and law degrees, going on to serve as a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps with the 101st Airborne Division from 1963–1966. He entered private practice and later co-founded Dearborn & Ewing. As his private practice career unfolded, Connor’s work in complex litigation ultimately led him to pioneer alternative dispute resolution techniques in Tennessee. Widely regarded as one of the "fathers of mediation," he maintained an extraordinary record of successful resolutions. He later served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and as a special chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Connor received the Nashville Bar Association’s highest distinction, the John C. Tune Public Service Award, as well as the Best of the Bar Lifetime Achievement Award. Visitation will be Jan. 9 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 3900 West End Ave., Nashville 37205 from 10-11:15 a.m. CST, followed by a service at noon. A reception will follow at the Vanderbilt Commodore Club, 2601 Jess Neely Drive, Nashville 37212. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church or the Boys and Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee. The Tennessean has more on Connor's life, including his many contributions to the sport of golf in the state. Read comments from Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.