The Oklahoma Bar Journal December 2022

He practiced law for more than 50 years as a member of the Oklahoma, Texas and American Bar Associations. Memorial contri butions may be made to All Souls Unitarian Church or the American Lung Association. S andra McCommas Sawyer of Ashland, Oregon, died Oct. 9. She was born Sept. 1, 1937, in Tulsa. After earning her bache lor’s degree in journalism from OCU, she received her J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1967. After law school, she clerked for Chief Judge Alfred P. Murrah of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. She went on to work as a bill drafter for the House and Senate, chief of the Oklahoma Supreme Court Traffic Court Project and partner at Moran & Johnson. In 1978, she was appointed a special judge for the 7th Judicial District – she was the second woman seated as a judge in Oklahoma. She remained seated until her move to Medford, Oregon, in 1981. In Oregon, she worked as an attorney with Grant, Ferguson and Carter and as legal counsel at Kogap. Ms. Sawyer spent her life fiercely advocating for women’s rights and equality for all. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Services of Oklahoma, where he served on the Senior Advisory Board. Memorial contributions may be made to Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. J ohn Pearson Keller of Edmond died Sept. 29. He was born May 23, 1956, in Oklahoma City. Mr. Keller graduated from Heritage Hall High School and OU and received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1979. He spent much of his career in the oil and gas industry, working for Kaiser Francis Oil Co. and Chesapeake Energy Corp., among others. He also provided consulting services during his later years. M ilford M. McDougal of Portland, Organ, died Oct. 2. He was born July 4, 1922. Mr. McDougal served in the U.S. Army in World War II as a liaison pilot and in the Korean Conflict as an Army aviator. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and two Air Medals, among other medals. He received his J.D. from the TU College of Law and was an attorney and district judge in Tulsa. Memorial contributions may be made to Samaritan’s Purse. J ohn Vernon Rainbolt II of Steubenville, Ohio, died Sept. 16. He was born May 24, 1939, in Cordell. Mr. Rainbolt earned his bachelor’s degree in English from OU and his J.D. from the OU College of Law. He volun teered in the U.S. Army and was trained as an airborne infan tryman. Following completion of Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned as a platoon leader in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (Old Guard), whose

responsibilities include guard ing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He was a first lieutenant. At the end of his military service, he worked as senior staff to for mer Rep. Graham Purcell before serving as chief counsel to the Committee on Agriculture of the U.S. House of Representatives. While there, he was credited with drafting the Commodity Futures Trading Act of 1974, which cre ated the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. He was later nominated to the commission by President Gerald Ford and received Senate confirmation in 1975, serv ing as vice chairman of the CFTC. He later established a private prac tice in northern Virginia. R obert R. Reis Sr. of Tulsa died Oct. 12. He was born March 13, 1939, in Tulsa. Mr. Reis served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps for four years, first as a defense attorney at Fort Hood and then as an attor ney addressing nuclear secu rity matters at the Killeen Base Defense Atomic Support Agency. He joined the Army Reserves in 1969, serving for 22 more years before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1990 . He received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1964 and became a natural gas liquids and processors lawyer. He worked for Cities Service and Occidental Petroleum Corp. and as general counsel and vice president of legal affairs for Trident NGL. He also served as general counsel for the Gas Processors Association Midstream for over 20 years. In 1995, Mr. Reis opened a private practice in Tulsa, branching into other areas of legal counsel and as a mediator and arbitrator.

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL