Prominent Nashville attorney Dale Quillen dies at 91
Natalie Neysa Alund
nalund@tennessean.com
Dale Quillen, a well-known Nashville attorney and prominent member of the Music City community known by colleagues for his wit and legal acumen, died over the weekend.
His granddaughter, Olivia Lind, said he died Saturday morning.
Quillen, who family said was most proud of his time in the U.S. Marine Corps, served in Guam and Iwo Jima.
According to the Tennessee Bar Association, Quillen was licensed to practice in Tennessee in 1956, was a senior counselor member and attended YMCA Night Law School. He was also a member of TBASCUS (Tennessee Bar Association Seasoned Counselors Up to Something).
Following his death, dozens, including members of the area legal profession, took to social media to express condolences to his family and celebrate his life.
Davidson County General Sessions Judge William E. (Bill) Higgins, who said he worked for Quillen's firm after he graduated from law school, remembered him as "a genuinely good and honest person and an ornament to the bar."
"I am indebted to Dale Quillen for giving me a start in my legal career," Higgins said Wednesday. "Upon graduating from law school and passing the bar examination, Dale Quillen graciously welcomed me into his law office at 46th and Charlotte Avenue in West Nashville. I learned from him, a fine legal scholar, dedication to my clients and to the law. He will not only be fondly remembered by me, but also by the community for his wit, tenacity and legal acumen."
Quillen is survived by his fiancée, four children, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
Quillen was born and raised in Virginia before he joined the Marine Corps at 17, according to his 62-year-old son, Ken Quillen. The younger Quillen also pursued a legal career in criminal defense work and practices in Nashville.
He described his father as a country boy who didn't always fit in, but said that worked to his benefit. His father saw lawyers as an important buffer between government and people, acknowledging the important role of government but believing in the need to have an adversary in the courtroom.
He believed "you've got to have lawyers in the middle to keep it straight," Ken Quillen said
"We're hoping to hold a ceremony at Veteran's Cemetery on McCrory Lane in several weeks," Ken Quillen said.
He said the family plans to have Quillen cremated and to spread his ashes over Quillen's parents' graves in Baileyton, a northeastern Tennessee city in Greene County.
Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at 615-259-8072. Follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.