In memoriam: May-June 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.

John Henry Altergott Jr., age 86, of Kansas City, on Oct. 10, 2024. Altergott graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1961. He was a litigator and legal mediator. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves. 

James T. Ausmus Sr., age 88, of Centralia, on March 9, 2026. Ausmus graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1962. He practiced in Centralia for over 60 years and was general counsel for the A.B. Chance Company. He was the city attorney for Centralia and Sturgeon and maintained a private practice. Ausmus served in the U.S. Army. 

Hon. Rollie Richard Baldwin, age 94, of Kansas City, on Feb. 10, 2026. Baldwin graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1959. Baldwin was elected Clay County probate judge and served more than 25 years in the Clay County Circuit Court. He served in the U.S. Army. 

David Lee Blunt, age 73, of Edwardsville, Illinois, on Feb. 1, 2026. Blunt was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1984. He founded his own law firm in Edwardsville and represented thousands of railroad workers and their families. 

Frank Dean Colaw, age 69, of Chesterfield, on Jan. 7, 2024. Colaw graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1981. He worked for McDonnell Douglas Aerospace as a corporate lawyer in Missouri until he was transferred to its California location. He worked as a corporate lawyer and director of finance for the Boeing Company. 

Hon. William M. Corrigan, age 93, of Ballwin, on Dec. 5, 2025. Corrigan graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1955. Corrigan was a circuit judge in St. Louis County, a United States bankruptcy judge, a partner in a law firm specializing in plaintiff litigation, and a member of a firm specializing in defense litigation. He was vice president of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He served in the U.S. Army.

John David “Dave” Croessmann, age 75, of Battlefield, on March 29, 2024. Croessmann graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1977. He practiced business law in Springfield. 

Kaitlynn Marie Donnelly, age 37, of Platte City, on Feb. 17, 2026. Donnelly graduated from the University of Toledo Law School and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2014. She worked as an assistant public defender for the Missouri State Public Defender’s Office in Kirksville. In 2016, she began working as an assistant prosecuting attorney with the Platte County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In 2025, she received The Missouri Bar Foundation’s Lon O. Hocker Award for outstanding trial work. 

Robert “Bob” Nicoll Feldmann, age 79, of St. Louis, on April 15, 2026. Feldmann was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1974. 

Arthur Edward Fillmore II, age 79, of Kansas City, on Feb. 22, 2026. He graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1975. He practiced law for 50 years in Kansas City. Fillmore served in the U.S. Army. 

Arthur Friedman, age 90, of St. Louis, on Nov. 22, 2025. Friedman was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1961. 

Margaret Ellen Gangle-Casinger, age 74, of St. Clair, on Oct. 21, 2024. Gangle-Casinger was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1983 and worked in the St. Louis City Juvenile Court for over 20 years. 

Charles “Charlie” Curtis Hatley, age 95, of Cape Girardeau, on Feb. 13, 2026. Hatley graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1958. He practiced law in New Madrid for almost 63 years. He spent most of those years in general practice and was a Missouri assistant attorney general. Hatley served in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

John Michael Herries, age 38, of Springfield, on Sept. 14, 2025. Herries was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2014. 

William Keller “Bill” Hoskins, age 89, of Natick, Massachusetts, on Feb. 5, 2025. Hoskins graduated from Harvard Law School and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1983. He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and joined the Frost and Jacobs Law Firm. He was general counsel for the Drackett Company, then associate general counsel of Bristol-Meyers. Hoskins then was general counsel for Marion Laboratories in Kansas City. In 2001, he formed Resolution Strategies. Hoskins served in the U.S. Navy. 

George Winton Huston, age 88, of Kansas City, on Oct. 14, 2025. Huston graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1972. He was a corporate lawyer for General Motors, then opened his own law practice. Huston served in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserves. 

William Bruce Kopper, age 91, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Nov. 13, 2025. Kopper graduated from the Washington University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1959. He joined the legal department of the Frisco Railroad, then became legal counsel for Golden Cycle Corp. in Colorado Springs. He returned to general practice for a decade, then expanded his practice to include Kopper Investment Management. 

Robert Royden Laing Jr., age 67, of Bonner Springs, Kansas, on March 9, 2026. Laing graduated from the Washburn University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1984. He earned a masters in tax law from the Southern Methodist University School of Law. He practiced law in a range of areas, including family law, business and corporate law, and more. 

Tracy Mathis, age 72, of St. Louis, on March 6, 2026. Mathis was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1982. She was a lawyer at Lewis Rice and practiced in health law. She was a founding director of the St. Louis Area Health Lawyers Association and she was a director and legal counsel for Youth In Need. 

Susanna Renee McCrimmons, age 45, of Springfield, on Feb. 15, 2026. McCrimmons graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 2008. McCrimmons began her career in the Attorney General’s Office, then worked for the Greene County Public Administrator’s Office. She worked for Smith-Montgomery Law, Springfield Law Group, and Ozarks Family Law before starting her own practice. 

Hon. B.L. Paul McGhee, age 100, of Dexter, on Feb. 25, 2026. McGhee graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1949. He was a Missouri assistant attorney general, a Stoddard County Probate Court judge, Stoddard County prosecuting attorney, Dexter city attorney, Circuit Court of Stoddard County associate judge, senior circuit judge of Missouri, and president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. He also had a private practice in Stoddard County. McGhee served in the U.S. Navy. 

Mark D. Mittleman, age 78, of St. Louis, on Dec. 16, 2024. Mittleman graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1972. He worked for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, then joined a St. Louis law firm. He formed his own legal practice in Clayton. 

Stephen Joseph Nangle, age 76, of St. Louis, on March 3, 2026. Nangle graduated from the University of Denver College of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1974. His legal career spanned five decades. 

John S. “Jack” Pletz, age 81, of Jefferson City, on April 17, 2025. Pletz graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1976. Pletz was legal counsel and executive director for the Missouri Elections Commission. He also was deputy secretary of state for Missouri. He transitioned to private practice with Bartlett, Venters, Pletz and Toppins, P.C., then co-founded what would become Pletz and Reed, P.C. He was also legal counsel to the Jefferson City Housing Authority. He served in the U.S. Air Force. 

Robert Lee Proost, age 88, of St. Louis, on March 3, 2026. Proost was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1962. 

Peter Jerome Salm, age 91, of Sarasota, Florida, on April 7, 2025. He graduated from the Saint Louis University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1974. He worked as a trial lawyer, then supervising trial lawyer, for the National Labor Relations Board. In 1979, he transferred to the NLRB’s Tampa, Florida, office. Salm served in the U.S. Army. 

Larry Gordon Shockley, age 82, of Lorton, Virginia, on Jan. 29, 2026. Shockley graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1967. He served in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He worked in legislative affairs for the U.S. Air Force and was vice president for government relations at the Parsons Corporation. 

Sally Irene Slipian, age 70, of St. Louis, on March 25, 2026. Slipian was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1980. 

Donald Lee Slyter, age 93, of Kansas City, on April 15, 2025. Slyter was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1962. 

Harry Leitch Strachan III, age 84, of Chesterfield, on April 27, 2025. Strachan graduated from Rutgers University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1974. He served in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He worked in St. Louis for the Federal Strike Force. Strachan then worked in corporate law at 7UP and Energizer. 

Leonard Swade, age 94, of Windsor, Connecticut, on Dec. 13, 2025. Swade graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1956. He was a lawyer with Tidewater Oil, then Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance. Swade served in the U.S. Army. 

Hon. Theodore M. Tahan Sr., age 95, of St. Louis, on Feb. 10, 2026. Tahan graduated from the Boston University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1968. Tahan worked in Washington, D.C. before moving to St. Louis. He served as a federal administrative law judge and was a corporate executive before starting a law practice. He served in the U.S. military. 

Eugene “Gene” Barry Weisman, age 91, of St. Louis, on March 7, 2026. Weisman was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1960 and had a decades-long career as a lawyer. He served in the U.S. Army. 

John Masters Williams, age 78, of Farmington, on March 8, 2026. He graduated from the Samford University School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1974. He practiced for 51 years. 

Hubert Bernard Willman, age 92, of Spring, Texas, on Feb. 2, 2026. Willman graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law and was admitted to The Missouri Bar in 1962. He also studied tax law at New York University School of Law. He served in executive roles at North American Rockwell, Commercial Credit, 7UP, and Genstar Corporation. He became vice president, general counsel, and secretary at ComputerLand Corp. He helped launch Martin Wolf Securities, where he was vice president and chief financial officer. Willman served in the U.S. Navy.

Editor's note, 7/1/2026: Sally Slipian's tribute in “In Memoriam” has been updated due to discrepancies.