THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 78 | NOVEMBER 2022 Dorothy F. Alexander of Oklahoma City died Sept. 28. She was born March 16, 1934. During her life, Ms. Alexander traveled extensively domestically and internationally while holding a variety of jobs, including as a transcriptionist for the U.S. Air Force, assisting with aircraft crash investigations and the National Weather Service at the National Severe Storm Laboratory. She received her J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1975 and practiced law for more than 40 years in rural Oklahoma and Texas, serving as a magistrate for small municipalities for decades. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Oklahoma literary community. Ms. Alexander’s poetry was published in numerous anthologies and literary journals, and she was a driving force behind efforts to establish the poetry component of the annual Woody Guthrie Festival in Okemah. Memorial contributions may be made to Esperanza Women’s Shelter, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Indigenous Environmental Network Foundation or the social justice organization of your choice. Ashley Leonard Altshuler of Oklahoma City died Sept. 28. He was born Dec. 6, 1969, in Hanover, New Hampshire. Mr. Altshuler received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1998 and joined the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, where he served as an assistant district attorney from 1997 to 2004 and 2007 to 2011. He worked in private practice with the Coyle Law Firm from 2004 to 2007. In 2011, he was named an assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, serving as a federal prosecutor in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Project Safe Neighborhoods coordinator. In 2012, he was recognized by the FBI for his support to the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force, and in 2014, he received the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Contributions by a New Employee. That same year, he also received the U.S. Attorney’s Award of Excellence. Mr. Altshuler served on the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Foundation and Lyric Theatre Understudies and as president of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Associate Board of Directors. He also served on the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Board, Crime Stoppers of Oklahoma City Board of Directors and the Oklahoma Youth and Gang Violence Coordinating Council. Memorial contributions may be made to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to establish an award in honor of Mr. Altshuler at the OCU School of Law. M. Michael Arnett of Oklahoma City died Sept. 28. He was born Nov. 18, 1953, in Guthrie. He graduated from OSU in 1976 and worked as a journalist for KWTV-News 9 until the late 1980s. He received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1986 and opened his own law firm in 1994, where he worked until his death. Mr. Arnett was active in the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Assistance Program and Alcoholics Anonymous, where he recently celebrated 30 years of sobriety. He also was involved in Sierra Club and Promise Keepers and was an avid member of his previous churches’ elder boards. Charles Michael Barkley of Tulsa died Oct. 1. He was born June 16, 1948, in Tulsa. Mr. Barkley received his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1973 and began practicing in the areas of civil litigation and medical negligence. For more than 49 years, he was involved in many multi-district litigation cases involving banking, securities, spinal fixation devices, asbestos and drug and product liability litigation. He represented several Fortune 500 companies in 36 states, including World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. during a case that made historic changes in the rule of law for venue and jurisdiction throughout the United States by virtue of the historical opinion rendered by the Supreme Court in 1980. Mr. Barkley was the chairman of the Children’s Hospital Foundation at Saint Francis. He also served on the board or volunteered his time to assist in fundraising for the American Diabetes Association, Mental Health Association Oklahoma, American Cancer Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Philharmonic, Philbrook Museum of Art and Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. Memorial contributions may be made to Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma or the Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis. Jesse W. Beck Jr. of Edmond died Sept. 9. He was born March 30, 1945, in Dalhart, Texas. His family moved to Comanche, where he graduated from high school in 1963. Mr. Beck attended the Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore on a football scholarship and then transferred to OU, where he majored in political In Memoriam
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