The Oklahoma Bar Journal January 2026

I n M emoriam

C harles Wesley Barker Jr. of Collinsville died March 18. He was born Feb. 22, 1947, in Hobart. Mr. Barker received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1982. D eborah S. Arnold Block of Norman died Sept. 25. She was born Feb. 19, 1962, in Champaign, Illinois. She attended Norman High School and grad uated from OU with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1984. Ms. Block received her J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1987. She received both of her degrees with honors. She briefly began her career in litigation before leav ing corporate practice in 1994 to manage Associated Metallurgists, where she worked with her father. E dward Lee Bowman of Grove died May 9. He was born May 16, 1946. Mr. Bowman received his J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law in 1975. K elley Charles Callahan of Edmond died Sept. 10. He was born Aug. 22, 1952, in Oklahoma City. He attended Colgate University on a baseball scholarship. Mr. Callahan received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1980 and proudly practiced law until his retirement. D avid Roger Cerchie of Vero Beach, Florida, died Sept. 8. He was born Sept. 7, 1946, in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mar keting and received his J.D. from the TU College of Law. Mr. Cerchie began his legal career practicing in Tulsa. In 1994, he cofounded VersaFlex, a polyurea and protec tive coating technologies company.

The business expanded and eventually joined the PPG family of companies. He then moved to Vero Beach, where he served as treasurer of Bike Walk Indian River County. R enee Colbert of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, died Feb. 27. She was born Feb. 3, 1955, in Shattuck. She attended Southwestern Oklahoma State University on a flute scholarship, where she was the featured majorette, and grad uated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1977. Ms. Colbert received her J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1984. She practiced law in Oklahoma and later in western Pennsylvania, where she led Colbert Law. She shared her 40 years of experience with her fellow lawyers and para legal students as a professor at the Western School of Business and later Duquesne University. R onald V. Collier of Edmond died Oct. 13. He was born April 27, 1938, in Anadarko. He attended Geary High School, where he played football, and Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Mr. Collier taught history at Putnam City Schools while attending law school at night. He received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1969. After graduation, he worked with the Oklahoma City municipal counselor’s office. He went on to join Mesis Law Office in Hennessy before returning to Edmond. J udge Louis Alvin Duel Jr. of Guthrie died Nov. 21. He was born May 8, 1963, in Guthrie, where he attended school and gradu ated in 1981. Mr. Duel earned

his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Oklahoma and attended law school in the evenings while serving as the Logan County undersheriff. He received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law and was hired as an assistant district attorney in Logan County. Eight years later, he was appointed as a special judge by Judge Donald Worthington. Two years after that appointment, he was elected as Logan County associate district judge, a position he faithfully served in for the last 16.5 years. N orma Eagleton of Tulsa died Aug. 13. She was born March 19, 1934. She graduated with degrees from Stephens College and OU, and she received her J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1988. Ms. Eagleton became the first female commis sioner (finance commissioner) on the Tulsa City Commission in 1976 and, in 1979, was the first woman to serve on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. She has been inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame, the Claremore Hall of Fame and the Claremore Public Schools Hall of Fame. T om Allen Frailey of Chickasha died Sept. 14. He was born July 1, 1951, in Stillwater and graduated from Perry High School in 1969. He received his bachelor’s degree in business from then-Central State University in 1973 and his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1976. Mr. Frailey began an intern ship at Vaughn, Stack & Huckaby in 1975 before eventually settling in Chickasha and becoming a partner, retiring in July 2017. He was the Chickasha city attorney for more than 40 years and served

94 | JANUARY 2026

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL