Editorial
Front Page - Friday, March 19, 2010
Chattanooga Bar Association honors deceased members
David Laprad
Members of the Chattanooga Bar Association gathered together March 8, 2010 to honor seven members who died during the preceding 12 months. Pictured are the relatives of the deceased who were present at the memorial service.
Members of the Chattanooga Bar Association gathered together in the County Commission Room of the Hamilton County Court House on March 8, 2010, to honor seven members who died during the preceding 12 months. Also present at the memorial service were some of the relatives of the deceased.
Judge W. Neil Thomas III presided over the ceremony. At his side were Court of Appeals Judge John McClarty, Magistrate Judge William Carter, Chancellor Frank Brown and Chancellor Howell Peoples. Following the invocation, Thomas said, “We have some giants of the Bar to remember this morning. It’s a sad day when we lose them, but it’s a joyous day when we remember them.”
William Crutchfield Jr. took the stand first to present a resolution prepared by Jack Chambliss on the life of Dudley Porter Jr., who passed away March 10, 2009. Although the resolution consisted of a simple biography, Crutchfield brought his comments to a close with the following statement:
“Therefore, be it resolved in a special memorial session this 8th day of March, 2010, that Dudley Porter’s good deeds and kindness be memorialized through this resolution and be adopted by this association as words of respect, praise and memory. Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be filed in the archives of the Chattanooga Bar Association and be enrolled in the memorial resolution book of the Circuit and Chancery Courts of Tennessee, and that a copy of this resolution be presented to his family as a token of the esteem and honor in which he has been held and as an expression of our very deep sympathy and our mutual loss.”
Each presenter would end his or her resolution with the same words, including Nora McCarthy, the next person to take the stand. McCarthy, a member of the Bar’s memorial committee, stood in for Stuart James, who’d prepared a decree honoring George Carpenter, who died April 18, 2009. While the resolution contained biographical details, similar to the Porter decree, James also commented on Carpenter’s skills as an attorney.
“Litigation is an art. And George Carpenter was one of its great artists,” McCarthy read. “He was a quiet litigator and a diplomat among warriors. He was ... a strategist who understood that the rules, the law and the courts were designed to protect his clients. George could do battle and, win or lose, keep his reputation. His work was a great tribute to the law and everyone working in it.”
Next, James Haley IV presented a resolution prepared by himself, Allen McCallie, Donald Morton and Alfred Smith on behalf of Alan Nichols, who died from cancer on Aug. 26, 2009. Haley said his “dear friend and partner ... was a keen scholar, a dry and subtle wit, a lover of history and literature and an extraordinarily skilled and successful attorney.”
Haley also called Nichols, who passed away in his late 50s, “a proud advocate for his native city of Chattanooga and a devoted husband and family man.” He then mentioned Nichols’ uncanny ability to quickly resolve complex real estate matters and knack for turning his lawn into “an ever more spectacular showcase” of plant life each spring.
Once Haley was finished, Richard Smith took the stand to present a resolution he’d prepared honoring James Robinson, who died Aug. 28, 2009. “At the age of 12, Jim decided he was going to learn to play tennis,” Smith read. “He didn’t have access to a court or a coach; rather, he had a used racket and a couple of balls, and he taught himself to play by bouncing the balls off the wall and back to himself. It’s probably not the recommended way to learn to play tennis, but it is typical of the way Jim responded to challenges throughout his lifetime.
“Jim ... was one of the most accomplished and respected trial attorneys of his generation. He was a trial attorney when that meant actually going to court and trying lawsuits.”
David Fulton followed Smith with his resolution paying tribute to John Richard Scarborough, who died Jan. 2, 2010. Fulton said Scarborough was not just an attorney of the highest integrity, but also someone who cared about the needs of his clients. In addition, Fulton said Scarborough was never too busy to help an associate or give someone encouragement.
“He was an amazing mentor who taught young attorneys that the practice of law was about making a difference in the lives of other people and not just accumulating billable hours. His generosity and willingness to help his clients, even if they couldn’t afford a legal fee, was exemplary.
“His family and many friends will miss him. We’re all thankful for the circumstances that brought Rick into our lives.”
William Foster delivered the longest resolution, which he prepared in tribute of his uncle, George Foster Sr., who died Jan. 8, 2010.
“George was a great believer in a sense of humor and an excellent teller of tale tales,” he read. “Once of his favorite stories about himself involved a cocktail party on Lookout Mountain. Several of George’s cohorts were lamenting their travails in riding the Baylor bus. George rose to the defense of the Baylor bus, saying he enjoyed his years on it even if he took some grief from the older boys. Capping his defense, George said, ‘All I ever knew about sex, I learned on the Baylor bus.’ His wife quickly turned him on his heel with the comment, ‘Please go back and ride the bus some more.’”
The story earned Foster a big laugh, as did the other tales he related from his uncle’s life.
Foster offered many biographical details as well, the sum of which this newspaper could not contain, before closing with the words, “It was a pleasure to recall the life of George Lane Foster Sr.”
Peoples stepped down from his bench to present the resolution he prepared for Robert Summar, who died Jan. 23, 2010. “Always a soft-spoken and even-tempered gentleman, Bob was especially adept at dealing with bereaved family members ... and in conducting masters hearings, at which the parties or their counsel would sometimes start to become quarrelsome.
“He employed an excellent staff as deputy clerk and made service to the public and the attorneys a priority. He was responsible for handling and accounting for the millions of dollars in public and private funds that passed through his Chancery Court, and his books were always in order. Because of his integrity and excellent reputation as an administrator, the Tennessee Supreme Court appointed him clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, a position in which he served until his retirement in 1992.”
Peoples slipped in a humorous story of his own, recounting the time a non-lawyer had worked his way into the legal system by posing as an attorney. When a lawyer who’d graduated from Vanderbilt asked Summar why he didn’t realize the man wasn’t an attorney, Summar replied, “He said he was from Vanderbilt, and I always have to tell lawyers from Vanderbilt what to do.”
To end the ceremony, the Reverend and Honorable Samuel Payne offered the
benediction, praying, “It is just and right that we as the pro-
tectors of freedom and the champions of justice honor
these hallowed men who have, by their lives, preserved free-
dom, peace and justice for all people. Let us never forget that that duty is now ours to carry forward.”
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