THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 104 | SEPTEMBER 2025 Andrew J. Reinert of Ponca City died Jan. 15. He was born Feb. 11, 1938, in Enid. He graduated from Pioneer High School and from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Following graduation, Mr. Reinert worked with Phillips Petroleum Co. in Bartlesville. He received his J.D. from the TU College of Law and began his legal career at Conoco, where he worked as a patent attorney. After three years, Mr. Reinert began working with City Services in Tulsa before returning to Conoco. He retired in 1993 and was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Patrick C. Ryan of Oklahoma City died May 3. He was born June 15, 1935, in Clinton and graduated from St. Gregory’s High School in Shawnee. Mr. Ryan served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1961 and attended night classes at law school while working at the Oklahoma Insurance Department. He received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1968 and was named general counsel for the Insurance Department. Mr. Ryan was appointed director of the Oklahoma Securities Department and then later director of the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Affairs. In 1974, he was appointed to a judgeship with the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court, where he rose to the level of presiding judge and oversaw the Denver Davison Building. While serving as a judge, Mr. Ryan also found time to teach workers’ compensation law as an adjunct professor at the OCU School of Law. He received his OBA 50-year milestone anniversary pin in 2018. He left the bench in 1984 to form the law firm known as Boettcher & Ryan, which eventually expanded to Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Ponca City. He retired in 1998 but continued to serve as of counsel to the firm. Paul Mack Shaver of Fort Smith, Arkansas, died Dec. 31, 2024. He was born Jan. 25, 1940, in Grand Coulee, Washington. He graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1958 and from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in 1962. Mr. Shaver received his J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1965 and was a member of the Arkansas Law Review from 1963 to 1965. He joined the law firm then known as Warner, Warner & Ragon in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He moved his law practice to Oklahoma City and practiced as an oil and gas attorney. Mr. Shaver received his Ph.D. in organizational management and mass communications from OU in 1991. He served as a professor of communications in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Indiana and as a delegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention. He later returned to the oil and gas industry, founding the Sabine River Land Co. in Sugar Land, Texas. In 2004, Mr. Shaver moved back to Fort Smith, where he continued practicing oil and gas law until his retirement. He was a member of the Arkansas Bar Association and a certified professional landman. M. C. Smothermon of Edmond died Aug. 22, 2024. She was born Jan. 18, 1940, in Garden City, Kansas. She graduated from high school in Denver and went to work at the United States Air Force Academy. Ms. Smothermon founded RAIN in 1992, an organization dedicated to providing support, advocacy and care to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Her work in this area led to her being honored in the Book of Lives & Legacies in the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1995. Later that year, she became the oldest recipient of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which allowed her to intern at the White House and earn her undergraduate degree at the age of 56. Upon graduation, she attended the OCU School of Law, where she was selected as the Outstanding Woman Law Graduate for 2002. She devoted the bulk of her legal career to representing parents and children at the Oklahoma County Juvenile Bureau. Janelle Hicks Steltzlen of Tulsa died Jan. 4. She was born Sept. 18, 1937, in Atlanta. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from OSU in 1958, a master’s degree from Kansas State University in 1967 and a J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1981. Ms. Steltzlen was also a licensed real estate broker and had been admitted to practice law in several courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Before becoming a lawyer, she was a school food services director at Kansas State University and worked as a dietitian in the Turner Unified School District in Kansas. She began her career as a dietetic resident at OU, where she became a registered dietitian. She had a private practice in Tulsa from 1981 to 1997. In addition to her legal work, Ms. Steltzlen was a lecturer at the College of DuPage and Tulsa Community College and was an active reserve deputy for the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. She served on various boards and committees, including the Tulsa Sister City San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and the Tulsa County Tax Oversight Committee. She was also involved with professional organizations, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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