In memoriam: May-June 2024

Leigh Joy Carson, age 62, of Clayton, on Feb. 28, 2024. Carson was a lawyer for over 30 years, started a family law practice, The Carson Law Firm, and owned a small business for over 25 years. She graduated from Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1987. 

Hon. Robert Eugene Crist, age 99, of Columbia, on March 30, 2024. Crist was Shelby County prosecuting attorney before serving as a judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals-Eastern District and later as senior judge for the Missouri Court of Appeals. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1950. Crist was a member of The Missouri Bar Board of Governors from 1957-1961 and was a mediator and arbitrator for the bar’s Fee Dispute Resolution Committee. He served in the U.S. Army. 

David Jonathan Davies, age 49, Conway, AR, on Jan. 30, 2024. Davies was assistant attorney general before entering private practice, where he focused on elder law and estate planning. He graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2014. 

Ray F. Dierker Jr., age 83, of St. Louis, on Feb. 23, 2024. Dierker was a lawyer for 57 years after graduating from the Saint Louis University School of Law and being admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1965. Dierker served in the U.S. Navy. 

Elbert Dorsey, age 82, of St. Louis, on Jan. 30, 2024. Dorsey was co-founder of Bussey, Collier, and Dorsey, graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law, and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1973. 

Mark Russell Dunmire, age 54, of Kansas City, on March 15, 2024. Dunmire worked in the family business, Growth Industries, for 32 years. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2010. 

Bruce Feldacker, age 83, of Durham, NC, on Feb. 15, 2024. Feldacker was a mediator in more than 600 employment and civil law cases, and he taught at Saint Louis University School of Law, George Meany Center for Labor Studies, Indiana University, and Cornell University. He received his juris doctor degree at the University of Chicago School of Law and his master of law degree at Georgetown University Law Center. Feldacker was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1965 and served in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. 

Thomas Francis Flynn, age 75, of Sarasota, FL, on Feb. 13, 2024. Flynn was a state public defender before working as an assistant public defender for 16 years. He graduated from the Washington University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1976. 

Philip Arthur Franklin, age 80, of St. Louis, on Jan. 11, 2024. Franklin graduated from the Southern Illinois University School of Law, was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1978, and served in the U.S. Marines Corps.

Deborah Renee Gotviagehya, age 56, of Nevada, on Jan. 11, 2024. Gotviagehya was Carthage and district 28 public defender after graduating from Washburn University School of Law and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. She was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2005. 

John Grieves, age 92, of Sahuarita, AZ, on Feb. 21, 2023. Grieves was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1979. 

Jerry Allen Klein, age 87, of St. Louis, on March 25, 2024. A graduate from the Washington University School of Law, Klein was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1961. 

Robert Jon Nourie, age 78, of Atchison, KS, on March 10, 2024. Nourie worked as a prosecuting attorney in Nodaway County, a judge advocate general, and in the Legal Assistance Office at U.S. Marine Corps headquarters. He graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1974. Nourie served in the U.S. military. 

Robert Joseph Pilgrim, age 47, of Lawrence, KS, on Feb. 4, 2024. Pilgrim was assistant district attorney in Shawnee County, Kansas, and served in the U.S. military. He graduated from Washburn University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2016. 

Charles Sarkisian, age 94, of St. Louis, on March 2, 2024. Sarkisian owned a private practice in downtown St. Louis. He graduated from Washington University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1954. 

Jack Anthony Strellis, age 79, of Waterloo, IL, on March 4, 2024. After graduating from Loyola University School of Law, Strellis founded Strellis Firm Law Offices in 1992. 

Norman Maun Tempel, 98, of Kansas City, on March 19, 2024. Before opening his own practice, Tempel worked at Shughart Thompson & Kilroy. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1953. Tempel served in the U.S. Navy. 

Hon. Lawrence O. Willbrand, age 97, of St. Louis, on Feb. 14, 2024. Willbrand worked in general practice for 66 years, as well as served as circuit court judge for St. Louis City and municipal judge for Town and Country. Willbrand served in the U.S. Navy.