Obituary

Allaire Urban Karzon, pioneering VLS professor, dead at 95

Jan. 27, 2021—A trailblazing attorney whose career combined teaching and practice, Professor Karzon became the first tenured woman professor at Vanderbilt, where she taught tax law.

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Alumni Faculty News General News Obituary


Bob Covington ’61, who taught at VLS for 46 years, dead at 84

Dec. 3, 2020—Covington was an expert in labor law who also published books and articles on evidence, insurance, legal method and legal education.

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Alumni Faculty News General News Obituary


Tennessee state senator Doug Henry ’51 dead at 90

Mar. 7, 2017—Sen. Henry served for 44 years in Tennessee’s state legislature.

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Alumni General News Home Page News Obituary Summer 2017 Vanderbilt Law Magazine


Civil rights leader and former Oklahoma State Senator E. Melvin Porter ’59 dead at 86

Jul. 27, 2016—Porter and classmate Fred Work became Vanderbilt’s first two African American graduates in 1959.

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Alumni General News Home Page News Obituary


Former VU general counsel Jeff Carr ’66 dead at 75

Apr. 13, 2016—Carr retired from a 34-year career as a senior leader at Vanderbilt in 2000.

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Alumni General News Obituary


Sen. Fred Thompson ’67, Aug. 19, 1942 – Nov. 1, 2015

Nov. 2, 2015—Thompson had successful careers as a U.S. senator, an attorney and an actor.

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Alumni General News Home Page News Obituary


Ameena Nadeem Ashfaq, Class of 2008

Aug. 13, 2015—Ameena Nadeem Ashfaq, Class of 2008, died March 31 after a two-year battle with cancer. Ameena was married to Dr. Rehan Ahmed (M.D.’08). Ameena and Rehan met as high school seniors. After attending universities in different states, they married and moved to Nashville in 2004 to attend Vanderbilt. Following their graduation, Ameena and Rehan moved...

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Obituary Summer 2015 Vanderbilt Law Magazine


Lawrence Maynard Magdovitz ’61 (BA’59)

Aug. 13, 2015—Lawrence Maynard Magdovitz ’61 (BA’59) of Clarksdale, Mississippi, died May 24 after a long illness. A native of Clarksdale, he briefly worked in Kentucky after law school before returning home to open the Law Offices of Lawrence Magdovitz in 1962. His law practice spanned 52 years. While he was respected for his legal skills, his...

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Obituary Summer 2015 Vanderbilt Law Magazine


Carlton Tarkington, 1936–2015

Aug. 13, 2015—Carlton B. Tarkington ’63 (BA’59) died January 20. He was 78. A Nashville native, Carlton graduated from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College in 1959 before applying to Vanderbilt Law School at the suggestion of a family friend and mentor, Judge Benson Trimble of Davidson County’s Fourth Circuit Court. He was not only admitted, but was also awarded...

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Obituary Summer 2015 Vanderbilt Law Magazine


Distinguished Alumnus Award Winner: Charles ‘Chet’ Gerdts III ’78

Aug. 13, 2015—Charles “Chet” Gerdts III ’78 is remembered as a brilliant legal professional, devoted husband and father, trusted adviser and loyal friend. By Kara Furlong A staunch supporter of Vanderbilt Law School, Gerdts served on the Board of Advisors. He was posthumously honored with the law school’s Distinguished Alumnus Award at the spring 2015 Founders Dinner....

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Obituary Summer 2015 Vanderbilt Law Magazine


Matt Murfree III JD’69, BA’66 dead at 70

Nov. 7, 2014—Murfree was a community leader in Rutherford County throughout his legal career.

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Alumni Obituary


Harold G. Maier, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, dead at 77

Aug. 26, 2014—Professor Maier spent his entire academic career at Vanderbilt Law School.

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Alumni Faculty News General News Obituary


Criminal law professor Donald J. Hall dead at 69

Nov. 30, 2012—Professor Hall was a revered teacher and criminal law expert who taught at Vanderbilt from 1970 until his retirement in 2007.

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Faculty News General News Obituary


Vanderbilt Board of Trust emerita Alyne Queener Massey dead at 85

Sep. 12, 2012—The Alyne Queener Massey Law Library at Vanderbilt Law School is named in her honor.

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General News Obituary


Judge John Powers 53 (BA 51) dead at 82

Apr. 2, 2012—Judge Powers remembered for his work ethic and sense of humor

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General News Obituary


Chet Gerdts ’78, member of Vanderbilt Law’s Board of Advisors, dies at 58

Feb. 22, 2012—Gerdts served as general counsel of PricewaterhouseCoopers US.

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General News Obituary


Robert Belton, trailblazing scholar of employment law, dead at 76

Feb. 10, 2012—Professor Belton retired from a distinguished 34-year career at Vanderbilt in 2009.

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Faculty News General News Obituary


Robert Lee Sullivan, Class of 1977, dead at 59

Sep. 19, 2011—Sullivan was a partner in Loeb and Loeb in Nashville.

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General News Obituary


In Memoriam: Charles O. Galvin, Centennial Professor of Law Emeritus

Jan. 31, 2011—Galvin served as Vanderbilt's Centennial Professor of Law from 1983-90 and as Dean of SMU Law School from 1963-80.

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General News Obituary


Law school mourns loss of Professor Emeritus Harold Levinson

Jan. 28, 2011—Distinguished scholar of comparative law, administrative law, accounting and legal ethics died January 26.

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General News Obituary


Law school community mourns the loss of VBA President Chris Lantz, Class of 2011

Dec. 30, 2010—Chris Lantz, a third-year law student and the President of the Vanderbilt Bar Association, died last night in a snowmobile accident. Chris was a central figure in the life of the Law School. We are deeply saddened by the news of his death, and our hearts go out to Chriss family, friends, classmates, and teachers during this very difficult time.

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General News Obituary


Richard Nagareda, David Daniels Allen Professor of Law, dies

Oct. 9, 2010—Nagareda was a preeminent civil litigation scholar and author of Mass Torts in a World of Settlement.

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General News Obituary