The Oklahoma Bar Journal October 2024

G ary Lynn Porter of Oklahoma City died July 17. He was born Feb. 18, 1946, in Bartlesville. Mr. Porter completed pharmacy school at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, earned a master’s degree in business administration from OCU, worked toward a Ph.D. in adult and higher education from OU and received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1992. He served as president of his college pharmacy fraternity, Phi Delta Chi; ambassador of the Elk City Chamber of Commerce; and presi dent of the Rotary Club of Elk City. Mr. Porter practiced pharmacy, ran several businesses, and practiced law during his life – he and his family provided care to patients from 1979 until his retirement in 2022. He also served as president of the Nursing Home Association of Oklahoma for many years, over seeing practices to improve patient care and guiding providers in caring for vulnerable populations. As a Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy faculty member, he was responsible for developing a continuing educa tion program to facilitate licensure requirements for pharmacists. He was recognized as a multiple-time Paul Harris Fellow for Rotary International and honored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of three Outstanding Young Men in Oklahoma.

R ichard Henry Wall of Norman died July 7. He was born May 29, 1968, in Norman and was a lifelong resident. He graduated with distinction from OU with a degree in journalism in 1990, and he was a five-time recipient of the Director’s Award from the H.H. Herbert School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Mr. Wall graduated from the OU College of Law in 1993, where he received the American Jurisprudence Award for Trial Techniques and Constitution Law. He practiced law from 1993 until his retirement in 2017. He focused his practice on criminal law and was committed to his role in the criminal justice system, which came from his strong belief that the system needs caring and skilled advocacy in both prosecution and defense to administer justice fairly. He was perhaps profes sionally most proud of helping to create the Cleveland County Drug Court, a critical program that helps people overcome addiction with out incarceration. As one of two defense attorney representatives, he dedicated hundreds of hours of volunteer service to the program. Memorial contributions may be made to WildCare Oklahoma. T ony L. Waller of Tulsa died July 26. He was born Sept. 23, 1935. Mr. Waller received his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1962.

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL