Fletcher L. Yarbrough

YARBROUGH, Fletcher L. Prominent Dallas trial lawyer Fletcher L. Yarbrough died in Dallas on November 24, 2014. He was 80. His friends and colleagues remember him for his supreme wit, loyalty and grace, as well as for being one of the most respected and admired lawyers in the country, a distinguished "gentleman" lawyer with high ethics and a brilliant, facile legal mind. Citing his strong principles, young lawyers he mentored often referred to him as a present-day Atticus Finch. Fletcher was born in Ruston, Louisiana, on October 25, 1934, the only son of Fletcher Leftwich and Bertha Byrd Yarbrough. The family moved to Dallas in the late 1930s, where Fletcher's father worked as a cotton broker at the Dallas Cotton Exchange on behalf of the Japanese-owned Southern Cotton Company. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Mr. Yarbrough had to seek alternative employment, and decided to move to Navasota, Texas, where he established the Fletcher L. Yarbrough Cotton Company. Mr. Yarbrough chose Navasota because of the fertile Brazos Valley and because Navasota reminded him of his hometown of Opelika, Alabama. Young Fletcher thrived in his new environment and excelled in academics, sports, and boy scouts, earning his Eagle Scout Award. At Navasota High School, he was president of the student body, captain of the football and basketball teams and lettered in four sports. To the end, he was an avid Texas high school football fanatic and especially devoted to the Navasota Rattlers. In 1953, he returned to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1957 and served as president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He was accepted at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and began studies there in the fall of 1957. On December 27 of that same year, Fletcher married his childhood sweetheart, Harriett "Suzy" Harris in Navasota. While at Harvard, he served as Editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude with the storied class of 1960. Fletcher was awarded Harvard's prestigious Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellowship, and with Suzy he spent 1960 - 61 traveling throughout Europe and the Middle East. The fellowship began Fletcher's great passion for traveling and planning trips for his family and friends. In 1961, Fletcher joined the Dallas law firm of Carrington, Johnson, and Stephens, and in 1970, he became an original founding partner of Carrington, Coleman, Sloman, Johnson and Blumenthal, LLP. Many remember Fletcher as an outstanding constitutional law professor at SMU Law School and for his popular lecture series on the growing success of civil rights court cases during the 1960s. His amazing legal career spanned over fifty years. During this time, he was member of many legal organizations and received several acclaimed awards. In 1999, the Dallas Bar named him Trial Lawyer of the Year. Prior to that, he was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), where he served as Chairman of the Federal Rules of Evidence Committee and as Chairman of the Sandra Day O'Connor Jurist Award Committee. In 2005, he was a member of ACTL's Anglo-American Legal Exchange Delegation to the United Kingdom led by U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Sandra Day O'Connor and Stephen Breyer. He was also chosen as a Fellow of the Dallas Bar Association, the Texas Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. And he was a long-time member of the American Law Institute. His legal practice with Carrington Coleman included business litigation, corporate governance, professional liability, securities litigation, and arbitration. In the mid-1970s, he served on the Board of the Houston-based Coastal States Gas Corporation. He served as Carrington Coleman's Managing Partner for many years and took great pride in the firm's representation of pro bono clients. He was particularly proud of the firm's successful effort in 2004 to have the death sentence of a mentally challenged inmate commuted to life. To show his appreciation, the inmate crafted an ornate clock made out of thousands of matchsticks and gave it to the firm. He represented a long and distinguished group of local, national and international clients. Fletcher sought excellence in every endeavor and enjoyed mentoring and advising the associates in his firm. He ended his career honored as his firm's Chairman. Education was very important to Fletcher. He was Vice-President of the League for Educational Advancement in Dallas (LEAD) and served on the Boards of Trustees for the Children's Center and the Episcopal School of Dallas. He also was on the Board of the Dallas Epilepsy Association. As a result of his community commitment, he received the Torch of Conscience Award from the American Jewish Congress in 2002 for "recognition of personal qualities of moral courage." Throughout his life, he mentored and reached out to young students. In recent years he frequently traveled to his hometown to share his wisdom with Navasota High School history students. Fletcher never lost his desire to learn and expand his mind. He loved history, literature, and music of all kinds. Fletcher was preceded in death by his father and mother. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Harriett "Suzy" Harris Yarbrough; son John Fletcher Yarbrough of New York; daughter Anne Giddings Yarbrough of Dallas; son Matthew Elliott Yarbrough and his wife Jennifer Foley Yarbrough of Dallas; grandchildren Madeleine Elizabeth Yarbrough, John "Jack" Elliott Yarbrough and Blake Lillian Yarbrough of Dallas; sister-in-law Michele "Cheli" Henderson of Houston and brother-in-law Eugene "Gene" Elliott Coe and his wife, Pam, as well as numerous nieces and nephews and a loving extended family. At this time, our family would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Fletcher's doctors and to those who provided loving care and support not only to Fletcher, but also to the entire family during these last few months. Our family will miss the man who was our "rock." His integrity, work ethic, and determination to be the best at all things he did made us proud and blessed to be a part of his prodigious life. We hope that all who knew him will join us in our celebration of his life. Friends are cordially invited to the visitation to be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 30 at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 West Northwest Highway, Dallas. Burial services will be held in Navasota, Texas, on Tuesday, December 2 at 2:00 p.m., followed by a service at the First Methodist Church in Navasota at 3:00 p.m. A memorial service will take place in Dallas in the All Saints Chapel at the Episcopal School of Dallas at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 7, 2014. In lieu of customary remembrances, memorials may be directed to the Episcopal School of Dallas, 4100 Merrell Road Dallas, Texas 75229, The Lamplighter School, 11611 Inwood Road Dallas, Texas 75229, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, 2501 Flora Street Dallas, Texas 75201 or to a charity of your choice.