3 minute read
In Memoriam
Stephen Engstrom
of Little Rock died on May 9, 2022, at the age of 72. Steve was a 1967 graduate and student body president of Hall High School, a 1971 graduate of Davidson College in North Carolina, and a 1974 graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law. He was the 1974 Articles and Comments Editor of the Law Review and has been an adjunct lecturer at the William H. Bowen School of Law. Steve began his legal career as clerk to Judge Thomas Eisele. He then partnered with Bill Wilson in private practice, and their firm eventually grew to be Wilson, Engstrom, Corum, and Coulter. He was a member of the Arkansas and American Bar Associations, the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association, the International Society of Barristers, and the American Trial Lawyers Association. Steve served as Chairman for the Inns of Court and was listed in The Best Trial Lawyers in America. He also received the distinction of the 2011 Outstanding Lawyer Award by the Arkansas Bar Association.
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Judge Jay T. Finch
of Cave Springs died May 30, 2022, at the age of 75. He served in Army intelligence from 1965-1969. He earned a bachelor's degree in Police Science and a master's degree in Public Administration from New Mexico State. He earned his Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. Jay served Benton County as a public defender, deputy prosecutor, and circuit court judge for over 20 years. As a judge, he created the first juvenile drug treatment court in Arkansas. He was a proud supporter of the Northwest Arkansas Children's Shelter and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA).
Louis B. "Bucky"
Jones, Jr., died May 16, 2022, at the age of 75. Bucky graduated from Hendrix College in 1968 and from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1972. He served as president of the Arkansas Bar Association from 1999-2000, was a founding member of the Northwest Arkansas Community College, and served as a director of Webster University-Fayetteville.
Judge Roger Vernon
Logan, Jr., of Harrison died April 15, 2022, at the age of 77. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor's degree and a Juris Doctorate. He was an avid historian, and wrote several books and articles on Boone County and Baptist history. He had been an attorney for 54 years, a judicial judge in the 14th Judicial District Court for 26 years and served in the Arkansas House of Representatives in the 1970s. He was a former president of the Arkansas Judicial Council.
James Michael Shaw of Fort Smith died July 6, 2022, at the age of 88. He graduated from the University of Arkansas with a B.S.B.A degree, and attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the University of Arkansas School of Law. He received his J.D. degree from Arkansas in 1959. He was active in the practice of law in Fort Smith for over 50 years and was President of the Standard Federal Savings and Loan Association and owner and Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Mansfield. He was a member of the Arkansas and American Bar Associations, Secretary of the Young Lawyers section of the Arkansas Bar Association and Past President of the Sebastian County Bar Association. He was also a member of the lnternational Association of lnsurance Council and Defense Research lnstitute. He practiced before various state and federal trial and appellate courts, the United States Court of Claims in Washington, D.C., the National Labor Relations Board, and the lnterstate Commerce Commission and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He served as a Special Justice to the Arkansas Supreme Court and was a State Board Law Examiner for several years.
George G. Vaught Jr.
of Denver, CO, died on May 10, 2022, at the age of 65. He was a graduate of Hot Springs High School, 1974; Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, 1978; University of Arkansas Law School, 1981; and passed the Arkansas Bar in 1982. He incorporated his company, Vaught Oil, on January 27, 1995, after moving to Denver, Colorado.
Michael E. Wheeler of The Woodlands, Texas, died May 28, 2022, at the age of 72. Michael was a 1972 graduate of Arkansas Tech. After serving four years as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he attended UALR School of Law, graduating in 1979. During his legal career, he served as a deputy prosecuting attorney in Sebastian County, an assistant attorney general for the State of Arkansas, and then for over 30 years as a law professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas.
