In memoriam: July-August 2026

How to submit an obituary

To submit an obituary, please complete the form at MoBar.org/in-memoriam. We will not print a notice unless a copy of the death certificate or obituary is submitted.

Reza Azimi-Tabrizi, age 58, of Independence, on June 20, 2025. Azimi-Tabrizi graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2003. He practiced at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Kansas City and later opened his own practice in Independence. 

Michael Barron, age 89, of St. Louis, on Dec. 28, 2025. Barron graduated from the University of Michigan School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1964. He worked for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan and in private practice in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked for several law firms in St. Louis, focusing on petroleum industry laws. He earned a Master of Laws in tax law from the Washington University School of Law and helped clients with elder law issues. 

Susan Traylor Bittick, age 71, of Dripping Springs, Texas, on Nov. 29, 2025. Bittick graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1995. She earned her Master of Laws from the University of Houston Law Center. Bittick worked at Ryan, LLC for 20 years, most recently as a principal in its U.S. advocacy practice. 

Steve Boyd, age 89, of Washington, D.C., on April 7, 2024. Boyd graduated from Harvard Law School and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1958. He served as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force in Japan and Taiwan. Boyd worked for the State Department in Washington, D.C., and New York and practiced international commercial litigation and business law for private firms in St. Louis, Paris, and Washington, D.C. He was an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association. 

Robert “Bob” Brady, age 76, of Chesterfield, on March 9, 2023. Brady was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1973. He was a corporate lawyer in St. Louis and worked at Monsanto for over 30 years. He retired as director of the State and Local Tax Department. 

William B. Bundschu, age 94, of Lee’s Summit, on May 22, 2025. Bundschu graduated from the Duke University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1956. He received a Master of Laws from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Bundschu practiced business law at the Popham, Conway, Sweeney, Fremont and Bundschu Law Firm. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve. 

Scarlet LeeAnn Butts, age 65, of Gladstone, on April 9, 2026. Butts graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1993. She worked in private practice and was a municipal prosecutor for Cameron. She was assistant prosecutor for Caldwell and DeKalb counties and was the child support prosecutor for the Hamilton Project, which served a fivecounty area. She was also a guardian ad litem. 

David Clayton Christian, age 77, of Kansas City, on March 20, 2026. Christian graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1972. He was a manager of governmental affairs at Kansas City Power & Light and Platte County assessor. Christian served in the Missouri House of Representatives and the U.S. Army. 

Edward Glion Curtis III, age 85, of Mission, Kansas, on March 11, 2026. Curtis graduated from the Washington University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1970. He was a senior executive for the Resolution Trust Corporation and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation before retiring as assistant general counsel for regional affairs for the FDIC. He served in the U.S. Army. 

Clifton “Clif ” Langsdale Elliott, age 86, of Kansas City, on May 12, 2025. He graduated from the Northwestern University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1963. He was a labor and employment lawyer. 

Angelo Joseph Falcone, age 92, of Kansas City, on Aug. 10, 2025. Falcone graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1956. Falcone practiced law for over 60 years. 

Thomas Earl Fitzgibbons, age 86, of St. Louis, on July 12, 2025. Fitzgibbons graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1968. He was a practicing lawyer until he retired. 

Martha Monique Gillespie-Stewart, age 39, of Bridgeton, on Sept. 14, 2024. Gillespie- Stewart graduated from the Southern University Law Center and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2014. She was a state attorney for Child Services in Jefferson City, then worked as a lawyer for the Tennessee Department of Child Services. 

William Glover, age 98, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, on Feb. 24, 2023. Glover graduated from the University of Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1952. He worked at International Multifoods for over 30 years, retiring as a corporate officer and senior vice president. Glover served in the U.S. Navy. 

William Leslie Hanks, age 83, of Waterloo, Illinois, on Sept. 12, 2025. Hanks graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1997. He was an assistant state’s attorney in St. Clair County, Illinois, before working for several law firms. 

Gay Harris, age 69, of Florissant, on April 10, 2025. Harris was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1994. 

James Alvin Hesse, age 83, of St. Louis, on June 1, 2025. Hesse graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1966. He was general counsel for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific, and Alton and Southern Railroad. 

Matthew Francis Howard, age 64, of Eldon, on March 30, 2026. Howard graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1985. He worked in private practice at Oswald & Seek and then started an independent practice. He was Miller County assistant prosecuting attorney, then Miller County prosecuting attorney. 

Thomas Charles Hullverson, age 89, of Scottsdale, Arizona, on Nov. 23, 2024. Hullverson graduated from the Washington University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1959. He joined the St. Louis trial law firm later known as The Hullverson Law Firm and practiced with his father and brother. He held leadership positions in various legal organizations, including The Missouri Bar. 

Dale L. Ingram, age 74, of Osage Beach, on Sept. 19, 2023. Ingram was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1989. He was a lawyer in Kansas City for 30 years and served in the U.S. Navy. 

Mark Joseph Ivandick, age 72, of Denver, Colorado, on Feb. 5, 2023. Ivandick graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1981. He was a judge advocate general in the U.S. Army before entering private practice in Clarksville, Tennessee. He worked as a lawyer and advocate for people with mental illness in Colorado. 

Tamma Elizabeth Keim, age 47, of Troy, on Nov. 12, 2025. Keim was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2010. She worked as an assistant prosecuting attorney at the Lincoln County Courthouse. 

Stephanie A. Kreis, age 82, of St. Louis, on July 21, 2024. Kreis graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1983. She worked at the Department of Defense Information Systems Agency, Office of General Counsel. 

Norman Walter Lampton, age 81, of Kansas City, on Dec. 21, 2025. Lampton graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1971. His practice area focused on bankruptcy law and creditors’ rights. He transitioned to the field of technology and worked as a data warehouse architect before returning to the practice of law. He served in the U.S. Navy. 

Joseph Lyons Leritz, age 97, of St. Louis, on Feb. 19, 2026. Leritz graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1952. He practiced law for 70 years. Leritz served in the U.S. Army. 

Samuel Markovits, age 72, of Middletown, New York, on Oct. 29, 2025. Markovits graduated from the Washington University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1978. He taught business law at SUNY Orange. 

DeLoss “Mac” McKnight, age 68, of Sandy, Utah, on March 25, 2026. McKnight graduated from the Duke University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1984. He was a lawyer and trust officer. 

Joseph Megerman, age 49, of Harrisonville, on June 3, 2026. Megerman graduated from the Cardozo School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2005. He served indigent clients in the Missouri State Public Defender’s Kansas City and Harrisonville offices. 

Hon. Kerry Lewis Montgomery, age 89, of Springfield, on March 12, 2026. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1965. He practiced law for 25 years in Springfield, then was appointed to the Missouri Court of Appeals. He served there for 13 years, including as chief justice. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. 

Joseph J. Mulvihill, age 79, of Phoenix, Arizona, on June 10, 2024. Mulvihill was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1969 and practiced law at Mulvihill & Hunter. He was a lawyer for the Jackson County Assessor and Collector and later was Kansas City assistant prosecutor. 

Jay Roger Robinson, age 93, of Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 20, 2023. Robinson graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1959. He spent 19 years in personnel work and then went into private practice, focusing on labor law. He was an adjunct professor at the University of Mississippi and served in the U.S. Air Force. 

Barbeau Roy, age 86, of Napa, California, on Sept. 26, 2023. Roy graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1970. He taught philosophy at Saint Louis University. 

Robert Jules Schneider, age 96, of St. Charles, on Jan. 31, 2025. Schneider graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1952. He served with the Judge Advocate General’s Department in the U.S. Air Force. He did accounting and legal work for several companies in St. Louis, then worked for Wetterau Inc. for 24 years as general counsel, head of the legal department, secretary, and first vice president. 

Patricia Leigh Shostak, age 62, of St. Louis, on April 24, 2026. Shostak was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1991. 

J. Richard Skouby, age 94, of Vienna, on March 20, 2024. Skouby was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1956. He worked at Thomson Mitchell Law Firm and Mercantile Bank Corp. 

Henry Hirsh Stern Jr., age 88, of St. Louis, on April 25, 2026. He graduated from the University of Chicago Law School and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1963. He practiced law with his father, then founded Popkin & Stern law firm. He later was a partner at Lewis Rice. 

Greg Stites, age 71, of Bismarck, North Dakota, on May 25, 2022. He graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1996. He practiced law in Jamestown before joining Western Gear Corporation as a senior legal contracts administrator. He was general counsel at the North Dakota Insurance Department. He moved to Austin, Texas, and represented state insurance departments with insurance companies in receivership for the law firm of Rubenstein & Perry. He was senior counsel for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and senior counsel and compliance officer at DXC Technology. 

Kevin R. Sweeney, age 68, of Kansas City, on Feb. 19, 2026. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1982. He worked for Shook, Hardy and Bacon; Sonnenschien, Nath, and Rosenthal; and Polsinelli PC. 

Hon. Franklin T. Thackery, age 97, of St. Joseph, on April 7, 2026. Thackery graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1957. He was a prosecuting attorney in Worth County and later entered private practice with Utz, Litvak, Thackery, Utz, and Taylor. He then became a circuit court judge. He served on The Missouri Bar Board of Governors and in the U.S. Navy. 

Joan Lee (Overman) Thompson, age 84, of Kingwood, Texas, on Nov. 3, 2025. Thompson attended the University of Kansas School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1989. She was a lawyer for Winston Properties. 

Florent William Wagner, age 87, of Leawood, Kansas, on March 21, 2025. Wagner graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1960. He was vice president of the Trust Department at Overland Park Bank for 20 years. 

John Wasserman, age 76, of Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 13, 2025. He graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1976. He worked in St. Louis as a corporate lawyer. 

Bryan C. West, age 67, of Chesterfield, on April 30, 2026. West graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1984. West was a partner at Paster West and Kraner in Clayton, which became Realty Law Partners. His practice focused on commercial real estate law. 

Irvin R. Zwibelman, age 91, of Chesterfield, on July 18, 2025. Zwibelman graduated from the Washington University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1958. He started his own law practice and served in the Missouri House of Representatives. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.