Dudley Davis McCalla

Born January 1, 1932, in Houston, Texas to Kenneth and Tommie Harris McCalla, who brought him home to 2027 Park Street to meet his brother, Kenneth Jr.. Dudley was the namesake of Dudley Davis (Managing Editor of the Houston Press and dear friend and neighbor to the McCallas), who had died in an automobile accident shortly before Dudley’s birth.

In early 1944, the McCallas moved to Austin when then Judge McCalla assumed the position of General Counsel of the Texas Railroad Association. Ongoing wartime housing shortages necessitated that the family reside for three months in The Driskill Hotel before a home became available for rent on Elton Lane, off Enfield Road in west Austin.

Having completed grades one through six at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in Houston, Dudley attended University Junior High before attending Austin High School, graduating in 1949. He then entered the University of Texas, where he pledged Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. In his sophomore year, Dudley joined the Naval ROTC and graduated from UT in 1954 with a BBA and a commission as an ensign in the US Navy. Dudley served two years active duty as an officer in the Gunnery Department on the aircraft carrier USS Hancock, CVA 19.

Following his honorable discharge in June of 1956 with the rank of Lieutenant (j.g.), Dudley returned to Austin and entered the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a member of Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity, graduating in 1959 with an LLB. After passing the bar exam, Dudley was hired by the Texas State Securities Board before moving to the Office of the Attorney General in 1961, where he represented several administrative agencies in various types of litigation in trial and appellate courts.

The major event of Dudley‘s life took place on July 14, 1962, with his marriage to Maline Gilbert of Austin. After a short honeymoon to several cities in Mexico, the couple settled in Austin and Maline resumed her graduate studies at the University of Texas as well as what would be her lifelong involvement with civic and arts organizations. The couple was blessed soon with the births of their three sons: Dudley, Jr., (1963), Joseph Gilbert, (1965), and Andrew Harris, (1968).

Good fortune seemed to follow Dudley when he was contacted by Will Davis, a friend from his days at Austin High School, to discuss a possible association with the firm of Heath and Davis. Bill Heath and Will Davis were widely known and highly regarded in the fields of insurance and education law. Dudley joined the firm as an associate on January 6, 1964, becoming a partner soon thereafter. He continued to practice with Will Davis after Judge Heath’s death and until that of Mr. Davis in 2016.

Dudley continued to hone his expertise in Administrative Law. He was the author of Texas Administrative Law, a basic volume of substantive issues on the topic, published in Texas Lawyer Practice Guide in 1971, and was Board Certified in Administrative Law, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1976. To many, he is considered the father of Administrative Law in Texas for his achievements in that field, not least of which being the authorship of The Administrative Procedure and Texas Register Act, as passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Briscoe in 1975 to become effective January 1, 1976. Dudley was the recipient of the Trial Lifetime Achievement Award by the Administrative Law and Public Law section of the Texas State Bar in 2014, and the Outstanding 50 Year Lawyer Award from the Texas Bar Foundation in 2016.

During his time at Heath, Davis & McCalla, Dudley was particularly grateful to the friends who kept the wheels turning there for so many years: Barbara Hudson, Marilyn Rickman Taylor, and Kristal Trotty Hansen. After 50 years with Heath, Davis & McCalla, Dudley continued his legal career with a move to a position of counsel with Jackson Walker until his retirement in 2022. Dudley remained profoundly grateful to, and fond of, all his colleagues there.

In addition to his steadfast dedication to career and family, Dudley’s interests were many. Once in Austin, and for the rest of his life, he would pursue the outdoor activities it afforded: City baseball and basketball programs; swimming pools (neighborhood, Barton Springs, Deep Eddy and that of Austin Country Club’s Riverside Drive location, where he was a lifeguard); water skiing on Lake Austin (at which his three sons became more proficient); and jogging on Town Lake (most memorably one Capitol 10,000 when Dudley was joined by his three sons). And, of course, there was the game of golf.

Dudley’s father had introduced his sons to golf in Houston, so they took advantage of courses available to them in Austin. Kenneth Junior was the better of the brothers, but over the years, Dudley’s love for the game developed, as did his skill; his smooth swing becoming a reflection of his approach to life. He would ultimately play countless courses nationally and internationally, but more than any, that of the Austin Country Club, where he was privileged to serve as president in 2002 and 2003.

Dudley spent much of his life in the service of others, and served three terms as Senior Warden, Lay Reader, and Sunday School teacher at The Church of The Good Shepherd. Later in life, Dudley became aware of the work of CASA of Travis County, and volunteered his services. This led to a lifelong friendship with a young Chris Gomez, currently a successful musician and businessman in Austin. This cherished friendship now includes Chris’s wife and their son.

Dudley is preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Kenneth McCalla Jr., and, having made it to 94, by many friends and family. He is survived by the most precious gift anyone could possess: wife Maline Gilbert McCalla, sons Dudley Davis McCalla, Jr., Joseph Gilbert McCalla, and Andrew Harris McCalla, granddaughters Josephine Burch McCalla and Lydia Birch McCalla, grandson Angus James McCalla, devoted nieces and nephews, many great-nieces, great-nephews, godchildren, and a host of treasured friends.

To each of those, Dudley will be remembered as decent, ethical, sentimental, kind, generous, supportive, self-effacing, soft-spoken, patient, nurturing, and cleverly humorous. He was a caregiver, a role model, a charming host, and an anonymous contributor. He was delighted by babies and children. He loved (or at least tolerated), Maline’s diverse collection of animals. He loved his music and he loved his golf, but will be remembered most for always being his genuinely kind and amiable self.

His family expresses its sincere thanks to his caregivers, Simone Holzbrecher and Mellie Vargas, who gave thoughtful and careful attention to Dudley during the last years of his life.

His legacy is enviable; Dudley led as good, full, and complete a life, professionally and personally, as anyone could hope to have led. As one of his favorites, Frank Sinatra, would have been pleased to hear, Dudley lived his life his way. And he lived it very well, indeed. We are all grateful to have had him in our lives.

In lieu of flowers please consider contributions to the Maline Gilbert McCalla Scholarship in The School of Fine Arts at The University of Texas, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin, or the charity of your choice.

A memorial service celebrating his life will be held at a future date.