For two hours March 31, members of the Chattanooga Bar Association set aside the practice of law and gathered in the county commission room at the Hamilton County Courthouse to commemorate the members who died in 2022.
From landmark cases and extensive community service to creative endeavors and devotion to family, the presenters at the annual memorial service submitted resolutions that were rich with the details and the stories of the 12 lives they honored.
The Hon. Barry Steelman presided over the ceremony.
Juvenile Court Judge Robert Philyaw, the current president of the CBA, began the proceedings by thanking those who would be speaking.
“For 120 years, our bar has paused on a spring day like today to recognize the admiration, respect and memory of our [late] colleagues and friends. This is one of the most important occasions for our bar as a whole. For all of those who prepared and will present the resolutions, thank you for making today special.”
Jesse Oscar Farr
Attorney Harry Ray said the local bar initially considered Farr to be a “maverick attorney” with “quite a reputation.”
“Most of the older lawyers will remember that Jesse in his early years sported a long, dark ponytail,” Ray recalled. “I first met Jesse in 1979 in Judge Sam Payne’s courtroom. When I learned who he was, I told him I’d heard a lot about him. He jokingly replied, ‘And I bet none of it was good.’”
Farr went on to help the bar harness the potential of the early internet. In addition to assisting with the design of the CBA’s first website, he created a chat room for local attorneys.
As a personal injury lawyer, Farr became a “champion of those who were up against the system and didn’t have a clue where to start,” Ray noted.
A racing enthusiast, avid pilot and lover of cheeseburgers, Farr was a man of many talents, Ray continued, but none of his passions exceeded his love for his family, which at the end included his wife and many children, stepchildren, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“Jesse ... knew how to have fun, but at his core, he was kind and loving. He unselfishly gave his time to those who needed it the most, he loved his family, and his contributions to both the legal profession and humanity will be long remembered and appreciated.”
Bruce Arthur Hankinson
Zachary England offered a brief history of Hankinson, a Soddy-Daisy man who died at the age of 77 after decades of practice as a self-employed attorney.
Hankinson made clocks as a hobby and also enjoyed carpentry, woodworking, boating, fishing, reading and music, England submitted before reading a list of those he left behind, including his immediate family.
Hankinson also attended services at Red Bank Baptist Church, England said before bringing the resolution to a close.
Thomas Swain Kale
Kale defeated three bouts of cancer before succumbing to a recurrence of one at the age of 83, Kara Winer said during her tribute to the man of “deep faith.”
A North Carolina native, Kale graduated from the Duke University School of Law in 1964 and then spent his 53-year career practicing at Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams, where he eventually led the Chattanooga firm’s business section.
Kale’s most memorable case, said Winer, might have been his successful representation of L&N railroad in its suit against several locals, including Mayor Ralph Kelley, when they attempted a second hijacking of the historic General locomotive during its return to Georgia after its refurbishment in Kentucky.
“Tom was a consummate professional and maintained close personal relationships with many of his clients,” Winer continued.
Winer also discussed Kale’s extensive board service and his devotion to his wife, Carlotta “Cotty” Satterfield, and his church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where he served on the vestry, played on the softball team and was a lay reader and chalice bearer.
Howard Levine
Levine also spent his entire career practicing at a single Chattanooga firm. After graduating from the University of Virginia Law School in 1963, he joined Miller & Martin, where he focused on corporate, health care and trusts and estates law.
“The firm meant the world to him,” said his son, Jim, who recently celebrated his 25th year at Baker Donelson. “For his entire career, he kept in his bottom desk drawer his 1962 letter from the firm offering him a position as an associate.”
Levine extended his legal service to the Army Reserves, for which he served in the Judge Advocate General Corp, and devoted his free time to the boards of many local schools, nonprofits and other organizations.
He was especially proud of serving as general counsel to Memorial Hospital, where he spent the last few days of his life, said his son.
But nothing matched Levine’s affection for his family, which included his wife, late daughter, two sons and four grandchildren, his son added.
“Not even his die-hard fandom for the Atlanta Braves came close.”
William Deaderick Moon, Jr.
William Deaderick “Doc” Moon, Jr. earned his nickname from his plans to become a doctor, said Alvin Bell, who presented a resolution Dee Hobbs prepared. Combat wounds that permanently damaged his left arm ended those plans but not Moon’s intent to live a life of purpose, Bell continued.
Born March 26, 1925, at West Ellis Hospital on 9th Street, Moon died at the age of 97 at home with his family by his side.
Moon was a patriot and a good father, lawyer and citizen, said Bell. From being injured in France while serving as an Army infantryman during the Second World War to spending time with his children to arguing multiple cases before the Supreme Court of Tennessee, he led a distinguished life and career.
“Doc had an uncanny ability to recall Civil War history and loved dogs, limericks and whistling old tunes,” Bell read. “He also believed in courage and truth and admired those qualities in others.”
John Charles Mooney
After joining the Marines at the age of 17 and serving during the Korean War, the Georgia-born Mooney returned home and became “an exceptional and accomplished tax attorney,” said Carl Hartley, a former associate under Mooney.
“John was gifted with understanding complex fact situations involving numbers, so he decided to undertake a career in tax,” Hartley explained.
After becoming a CPA, Mooney entered the Emory University School of Law, knowing the tax field would require not only an understanding of accounting complexities but also a knowledge of tax law.
Mooney then joined the Chattanooga law firm of Stophel, Caldwell & Heggie and became one of the go-to partners for complex tax and corporate matters.
“John was a tireless worker, arriving most days before 7 a.m. and leaving after 6 p.m. with a briefcase full of client matters to be addressed and solved in the coming days,” remembered Hartley.
While Mooney was “a force with which to be reckoned as a counselor in the area of tax law, he was also a kind individual who gladly shared his professional experience and knowledge of the law with young attorneys,” Hartley said in conclusion.
Edward Blake Moore, Sr.
“As Edward Blake Moore, Sr., said when memorializing a member of this bar, ‘We gather once again for this annual ritual, not just to bury our dead but also to honor the part each contributed to the sum – the whole of what we are,’” recalled Judge J.B. Bennett as he began his commemorative of Moore.
Like Kale, Moore graduated from Duke Law School and then spend his entire career with Spears Moore.
Moore, who spent several decades defending health care providers in Hamilton County and elsewhere, “reveled in and bedeviled many as a master of the art of advocacy,” Bennett said.
Bennett went on to describe Moore as a lifelong student and proponent of grammar, politics, law and humanity.
“He sprang from the legal traditions and customs that embraced zealous, boisterous advocacy for his clients and his causes, and he was loyal to those values throughout his career, whether the venue was the courtroom, the board room or the mentor’s woodshed.”
Blake was active in the local, state, and federal bar associations and gave back to the community in a variety of ways through participation in many organizations in Chattanooga, added Bennett.
After retirement, Blake took up chain saw carving as a hobby and produced a number of pieces now displayed in locations throughout Hamilton County, including an eight-foot chimp at the zoo; Looie, the Lookouts mascot, at the stadium; two seven-foot bears at the Signal Mountain playground; and the Mountaineer at the 10th tee of Signal Mountain Golf Course.
Randall Nelson
When the Colorado-born Nelson decided to make a difference in the world, he entered medical school, but after one year, decided it was not for him. He instead joined the Army Reserves as an enlisted soldier and was assigned to the Judge Advocate General Corp. Upon completion of his active duty, he decided to try law as a career.
Nelson’s first legal employment was with Eugene N. Collins and Associates in the Pioneer Building in 1968.
“Randy spent his whole career at 400 Pioneer Building,” said Michael McMahan, who prepared and presented Nelson’s resolution.
Nelson enjoyed appellate work, McMahan continued. “His first court assignment was an appellate argument in the Court of Appeals. Randy said they sent him because the case was thought to be a loser. He reported that the judges were kind and, to everyone’s amazement, he won the case.”
Although Nelson lost to Jerry Summers, he was proud of his U.S. Supreme Court case of Southeastern Promotions v. Conrad, McMahan said.
“The Memorial Auditorium board had denied Southeastern Promotions the use of the facility for the theatrical performance of ‘Hair’ because it included nudity. This case established the First Amendment doctrine of prior restraint.”
Nelson participated in many ways in the growth and development of Chattanooga. He was the city’s lead counsel in the mid-1970s, when Chattanooga grew through annexation. He also represented the city in 1987, when a voting rights lawsuit challenged the commission form of government after adverse decision negotiations, resulting in a change to the current mayor-council form of government.
As city attorney, Nelson later helped to facilitate the city’s industrial development as counsel for the Industrial Development Board and was in the forefront of Volkswagen’s selection of Chattanooga.
A devoted husband and father, “Randy suffered from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease after retirement but never lost his sense of humor,” said McMahan. “He enjoyed life and will be missed.”
Kenneth Orrin Purdie
Joshua Baker prepared the resolution for Purdie, who at age 36 was the youngest attorney the CBA memorialized. Nevertheless, said J. Michael Holloway as he presented the resolution, Purdie loved life, lived it to the fullest and was happiest when he spending time with family, friends and his dog, Rousseau.
“To know anything about Purdie, you have to know about his love for the Lord,” said Holloway. “He grew up the son of a Southern Baptist preacher. To the uninitiated, that means he loved the Scriptures – but only the King James – and took them seriously.
“To this day, Orrin is the only person I know to cite Leviticus 25 and the Year of the Jubilee on a Property I Exam when questioned about the Rule Against Perpetuities.”
As with law school, Orrin earned fame as an attorney among the local bar, Holloway continued.
“During his first appearance in criminal court, Orrin was asked by his Honor whether he had signed into the clerk’s registry of attorneys. Purdie – having not ... given it a second thought – looked up at the old judge and replied in a soft drawl, ‘All due respect, your honor, but the only book I care that my name is in is the Book of Life.’”
After an endless silence, the judge leaned down from the bench and proclaimed, “Hallelujah, Mr. Purdie. You may proceed.”
As an attorney, Purdie was a generalist. While he loved the law and the demands of its practice, Holloway said, his heart was always on the family farm.
“Easygoing and polite to a fault, Orrin had the demeanor of someone who possessed an infinite amount of time. He was one of those rare souls who walks lightly in this world, unwilling to be burdened by its often heavy yoke,” Holloway offered as he wrapped up the memorial.
Norman Eugene Sabin
“Norm had four abiding passions: flight, the law, the Lord and his family,” read C. Scott Johnson from a resolution Wilson C. Von Kessler prepared. “While many children dream of growing up to be a pilot or a lawyer, Norm had the incredible opportunity to realize both of those childhood dreams.”
A native of California and an Air Force veteran, Sabin served in the Vietnam War and Desert Storm. His many talents included playing minor league baseball for the Dodgers, working as a software engineer in the early days of computer programming, raising quarter horses and being a military and commercial flight engineer.
In 1991, Sabin decided to pursue his interest in the law.
He initially joined the civil litigation practice of another veteran, Morgan Adams. In 2008, he took his passion in another direction and formed his own firm, Norm Sabin and Associates, which specialized in estate planning, elder law and veterans’ affairs.
Sabin was active in this practice until his death Jan. 16, 2022, of COVID-related complications.
“Norm was guided by his Christian values in all aspects of his life,” Johnson read. “He lived a life of integrity with unshakeable conviction, rooted in justice and the truth of God’s word.”
Edward Joseph Warwick, Sr.
Warwick died unexpectedly Dec. 15, 2022, in Mississippi at the age of 55, announced Mary Sullivan Moore, who prepared and presented the attorney’s memorial.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1967, Warwick was raised in Chattanooga, where he became a star athlete at The Baylor School, and earned his law degree from Ole Miss Law School in 1993.
“In each of these schools, he made lifelong friends who appreciated his wit, debate prowess and keen card-playing ability,” recalled Moore. “As his friends said, Joey was the first person you learned not to play cards with.”
After graduation from law school, Warwick practiced law in Mississippi, as well as Chattanooga, for many years.
Above all, he loved watching his children play their sports, Moore said.
“He was their ever-present fan, coaching them first and then supporting them from the stands. While he was an extraordinary golfer throughout his adult life, he put his clubs aside as his children grew older to fully support their athletics.”
John Clark West
West was a “true Renaissance man with many passions and hobbies,” said Jeffrey Maddux as he presented the resolution he’d composed for the attorney.
In addition to authoring the “Harriet and Daphne” children’s books, West visited six of the seven continents, collected late 19th century artwork and “was always looking for an empty piece of wall for his latest find,” Maddux noted.
“John had a great sense of humor and always had a joke to tell. Dinner was not complete until he and his stepson had shared their newest jokes with one another,” Maddux said.
“But above humor, John was the epitome of love and encouragement. To friends and family, he was the consistent voice of reason and the moral compass. He loved well and true, and in return earned the love and appreciation of all who knew him.”
Professionally, West taught, lectured and wrote over 106 case law updates for the American Society for Health Care Risk Management Journal of Health Care Risk Management. The ASHRM advisory board recognized his contributions with a lifetime achievement award.
Maddux concluded his resolution by saying West wanted to be remembered for contributing to modern literature.
“When John was asked in a 2020 interview how he wanted to be remembered, he said, ‘In addition to my ASHRM work, I’d like to be remembered as a writer. I’m a relatively ordinary guy who’s been given an extraordinary opportunity – and I’m happy to do it.’”