AUGUST 2026 | 85 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL to serve as chief of staff for Gov. David Boren. After teaching a wide variety as a junior faculty member, he taught civil procedure, conflict of laws, American legal history and a seminar in Oklahoma legal history for more than two decades. He received the first Outstanding Faculty Assistance Award from the Oklahoma City University Law Review, and he was selected by the Student Bar Association and by the Merit Scholars as the Professor of the Year numerous times. For more than two decades, he was also of council with the Oklahoma City law firms of Linn, Helms, Kirk and Burkett; Linn and Helms; and Linn and Neville. He also wrote many articles and books on Oklahoma legal political history, including biographies of Judge Murrah and U.S. Rep. Lyle Boren. James Sullivan Daniel of Tulsa died July 18, 2025. He was born Aug. 2, 1965, in Minden, Louisiana. He attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha. He received his J.D. from the TU College of Law and worked as a trial attorney for 25 years. Teena Pat Dunn of Oklahoma City died March 25. She was born Jan. 29, 1959, in Oklahoma City. She graduated from Midwest City High School in 1977 and from the University of Central Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in 1980. She received her J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1994. Ms. Dunn began her legal career at Lytle, Soule & Curlee, where she eventually focused on aviation law. In 1999, she joined the Aviation Group at McAfee & Taft, where she practiced until her retirement in 2022. Susan Kathleen Ehlen of Tulsa died Jan. 20. She was born Feb. 27, 1950, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She graduated from OU with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. While working, Ms. Ehlen attended night school and graduated with a master’s degree in educational administration. She became Academy Central’s assistant principal, breaking barriers as one of the first women in the state to hold this title. Once again, she went back to school at night while working full time and received her J.D. from the TU College of Law. In 1985, she went to work for the Dept. of the Interior in the Office of the Field Solicitor in Tulsa. Many of those years were spent representing the Bureau of Indian Affairs for issues involving tribal lands and individually owned inherited Indian lands. Carrie Rose Griffith of Watts died May 28. She was born Dec. 31, 1958, in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Ms. Griffith received her J.D. from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1992. She began practicing law in 1992, alongside teaching special education in the Siloam Springs School District before her retirement in 2017. Ms. Griffith resumed her law practice at Elrod Law Firm in Siloam Springs. Joseph Wharton Harris of Tulsa died July 2. He was born on March 18, 1951, in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in a U.S. Air Force family, completing high school at the Culver Military Academy in Indiana. He majored in music at Southern Methodist University and spent eight years as a professional musician in New York City. He relocated to El Paso, Texas, working as a private investigator for a lawyer while earning a master’s degree in flute performance at the University of Texas at El Paso. He received his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1996. As a solo practitioner, he focused on family and criminal law. Mead John Hedglon III of Oakwood, Ohio, died Jan. 24. He was born Nov. 19, 1943, in Syracuse, New York. He received his J.D. from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1967. James Forrest Howell of Midwest City died April 14. He was born July 14, 1934, in Wewoka. He played basketball and football at Wewoka High School and attended Eastern A&M College on a basketball scholarship, where he received an associate degree. Mr. Howell went on to attend Oklahoma Baptist University, where he played basketball and received his bachelor’s degree, majoring in speech and history. He served 16 years in the Oklahoma State Senate and seven years as a Midwest City municipal judge. He received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1963. James Dudley Hyde of Oklahoma City died Feb. 20. He was born May 20, 1944, in Oklahoma City. He graduated from OU in 1966 and received his J.D. from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 1969. He joined the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, serving first in Panama and later at the Pentagon. While stationed in Washington, D.C., he earned his LL.M. in taxation
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