Memphis lawyer Kim Deree Meloni died Sept. 8 at the age of 59. A lifelong Memphian, Meloni earned her law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law and, according to her obituary, worked as a tireless legal defender for neglected and abused children. Visitation will be begin at 9:30 a.m. CDT on Sept. 18 at the Memphis Botanic Garden’s Great Lawn. A memorial service will follow at 10:30 a.m. Dress will be business casual. The family asks that attendees consider wearing a mask. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Memphis Child Advocacy Center or to a charity of one’s choice.

Judy Wood Franks, longtime Signal Mountain resident and attorney, died on Aug. 26 in Nyack, New York. She was 77. Franks earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1981 and was editor in chief of the school’s Law Review. Franks clerked for Judge John Beyers in the Court of Criminal Appeals and later for Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Frank Drowota. She was also staff attorney for the Supreme Court. She is preceded in death by her husband, former Chancellor and Chief Judge of the Tennessee Court of Appeals Herschel Franks. A memorial service will be set at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family ask that donations be made to the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas or St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church of Signal Mountain.

LaFollette attorney, Keith Hatfield, died on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 50. Hatfield earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and was licensed in 1997. He primarily handled criminal defense cases in Knox and Campbell counties. An avid sports fan, Hatfield hosted sports talk show, “Holding Court,” on Knoxville’s WLAF radio station. A celebration of Hatfield’s life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made in Hatfield’s honor to Campbell County Animal Shelter, 745 Towe String Rd, Jacksboro, TN 37757.

Retired Anderson County judge Jennings Bryan Meredith died Sunday. He was 81. Jennings, a U.S. Air Force veteran, earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He returned to Anderson County where he practiced law for 12 years before becoming a judge in the General Sessions court. He served 22 years on the bench until his retirement. Meredith’s family will receive visitors on Thursday from 5 until 7 p.m. EDT at the First Baptist Church in Clinton, 225 N Main Street, Clinton, TN 37716. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be made to First Baptist Church Christian Service Center.

Jim Cheek III, one of the country’s top corporate and securities lawyers and a Bass Berry & Sims mainstay for more than five decades, died Friday. He was 78. Cheek, a Nashville native who earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University after graduating from Duke University, joined Bass in 1970. The firm is collecting condolences and tributes for the Cheek family via tributes@bassberry.com. Details about visitation and services have not yet been finalized. Read more about his career from the Nashville Post.

Memphis lawyer Jerry Edward Mitchell, who would have turned 79 today, died Aug. 26. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University, worked in the office of Sen. Albert Gore Sr., served the JAG Corps as a lieutenant in Vietnam, received an honorable discharge and returned to Memphis in 1971 to practice law. He then joined with John Thomason, Frank Crawford, Roy Hendrix, Al Harvey and Kim Johnson to begin the law firm known today as Lewis Thomason.  Following private burial, a memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Sept. 3 at Hope Church, 8500 Walnut Grove Road, Cordova, TN. The service will also be livestreamed. For details about this or a forthcoming secular celebration, email the family at jerryemitchellfamily@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to Autism Speaks, The Arc Mid-South, the University of Memphis or Germantown Performing Arts Center.

Maurice Wexler, longtime attorney at Baker Donelson in Memphis, died Tuesday. He was 89. Wexler served in the Counterintelligence Corps of the U.S. Army during the Korean War before earning his law degree from Loyola University Chicago. He was then recruited by Lewis Donelson to return to Memphis where he would become a founding shareholder of Baker Donelson. Wexler practiced law for 55 years, concentrating on labor and employment law as well as general business litigation. A graveside funeral will be held in Memphis tomorrow at 9 a.m. CDT at Temple Israel Cemetary, 1708 Hernando Rd. The service will also be livestreamed here. Shiva will be held outdoors at the Wexler home at 6682 Monmouth Dr. in Memphis from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday and from 10 a.m. until noon on Friday. The family asks that all in person visitors for the service and shiva are masked and fully vaccinated. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Civil Rights Museum or Temple Israel General Fund.

Knoxville lawyer Rufus Wilford Beamer Jr. died Friday. He was 78. A 1971 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Beamer practiced law for 50 years and enjoyed close relationships with many Knoxville lawyers. He tried cases in the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Tennessee Supreme Court and the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Funeral services will be private. Memorial donations may be made to The Rufus W. Beamer Fund c/o VA Tech Foundation, Inc., Office of University Development (0336), Blacksburg, VA 24061. The fund, established in honor of Beamer’s father, provides scholarships to graduate education students at Virginia Tech.

Sparta lawyer and former judge Gary Wayne Dodson died on Aug. 12 at 72. A 1973 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law, Dodson practiced law in White County for more than 46 years. He served as general sessions judge for White and Van Buren counties for 10 years, as White County delinquent tax attorney for 40 years, and as White County attorney for 16 years. At his death, he was serving as Sparta city judge. Funeral services were held Aug. 16 at the West Sparta Church of Christ. Memorial donations may be made to the Stepping Stones School Parents-Day-Out program at West Sparta Church of Christ, the White County Library or the White County Humane Society, 5600 Gum Springs Mountain Rd., Sparta, TN 38583.

Dandridge lawyer and judge Alfred Benjamin “Ben” Strand Jr. died Wednesday. He was 81. A 1967 graduate of the Cumberland School of Law, Strand practiced law for more than 40 years. From 1975-1976, he served as circuit court judge and from 1998-2014, served as Jefferson County General Sessions, Juvenile and Probate Court judge. He received the McCain-Abernathy Memorial Award in 2009 and the President’s Award in 2014 from the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges for his outstanding service as a juvenile judge. Strand also was active in the TBA’s high school mock trial program, helping field teams from Jefferson County High School and Mountain Youth Development Center. Visitation will be tomorrow from 3-6 p.m. EDT at the First Baptist Church in Dandridge. The funeral will follow. A graveside service will be held on Sunday at 2 p.m. EDT at Hillcrest Cemetery in Dandridge. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First Baptist Church of Dandridge or to the Dandridge Memorial Library.