THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 102 | SEPTEMBER 2025 Duchess Bartmess of Oklahoma City died May 22. She was born Dec. 15, 1939, in Denver. She graduated from the University of Minnesota and worked at the Oklahoma County Court Clerk’s Office before enrolling in law school night classes. Ms. Bartmess received her J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1966. She went to work for Oklahoma Attorney General Larry Derryberry as an assistant attorney general for four years. While at the state Capitol, she was hired by the Oklahoma Legislature to serve as chief counsel. She wrote legislation and conducted law research. While there, she was appointed to a commission on uniform state laws. She was also appointed as general counsel for Gov. Keating and served until her retirement in 1998. Jerry V. Beavin of Choctaw died July 31, 2024. He was born June 18, 1937. Mr. Beavin received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law. Barbara Beames Billings of Woodward died Feb. 16, 2025. She was born Feb. 6, 1953. Ms. Billings received her J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1978. Charles Ronald Britton of Tulsa died Nov. 13, 2024. He was born Nov. 22, 1939, in Tulsa. Mr. Britton received his J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and practiced in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Deanna Burger of Norman died March 17. She was born Sept. 20, 1937. Ms. Burger received her J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1961. Kevin Lee Dodson of Pryor died April 28. He was born Sept. 2, 1974. He graduated from Pryor High School in 1993 and from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics in 1997. Mr. Dodson received his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 2001. Early in his legal career, he interned under former U.S. Sen. Don Nickles and was a graduate assistant at the TU College of Law. He served as a municipal judge for Pryor and Locust Grove and was a member of the First Free Will Baptist Church in Pryor and The Gideons International for the past 10 years. Billy Stephen Edwards of Spring, Texas, died Sept. 19, 2024. He was born Aug. 30, 1938, in Neodesha, Kansas. He attended OSU and received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1965. Sandra R. Fallin of Grafton, Wisconsin, died Jan. 2. She was born April 8, 1938, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Ms. Fallin graduated from Rufus King High School in 1956. She received her J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1987 and spent the majority of her legal career as a social security and disability attorney. Ms. Fallin was a member of Cornerstone Church in Grafton. John Mancil Fish Jr. of Bartlesville died Oct. 15, 2024. He was born March 13, 1937, in Tulsa. Mr. Fish attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, graduated from OU with a degree in mechanical engineering and received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1963. He entered the ROTC program and served as an officer in the U.S. Army. After being honorably discharged, Mr. Fish joined the law firm of Laney, Dougherty, Hessin & Fish in Oklahoma City. In 1977, he joined Phillips Petroleum Co. in Bartlesville, where he worked as a senior patent attorney until his retirement in 2003. He played in the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra for 47 years. Kent F. Frates of Oklahoma City died June 12. He was born Sept. 27, 1938, in Oklahoma City. He attended Casady School, graduated from Stanford University and received his J.D. from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in 1964. Mr. Frates began practicing in Oklahoma City in the mid1960s. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1960 to 1966. In 1970, he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and served as the minority leader from 1976 to 1978. Mr. Frates was a practicing attorney for over five decades and wrote seven books and a feature film, all centered on Oklahoma. Jack Yelton Goree of Prue died Feb. 5, 2024. He was born Feb. 13, 1939. Mr. Goree received his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1969. Malcolm Wardlaw Hall of Oklahoma City died March 13. He was born Jan. 13, 1940, in Paint Rock, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1962. During college, he studied business and economics and served as president of his class and the student body during his senior year. Mr. Hall served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, dedicating seven years to military service. He went on to earn his master’s degree in economics from In Memoriam
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