Margaret Lee Morey

Margaret Lee Morey was born to Ed and Carrie Morey in 1950 in North Dallas. Ed and Carrie would go on to have three more children, making Meg the oldest of four. She began her educational journey at St. Monica Catholic Church and continued her education at St. Monica Catholic School in North Dallas until age 13. She and her family moved to Atlanta in the early 1960s, where she graduated from D’Youville Academy in 1968. She attended Rice University 1968-1972, earning a bachelor's degree in French and History (“double major”). She met her husband-to-be while at Rice University, and married Paul Tullar in 1974.

Her life-long desire to study Law was realized with her admission to St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio 1974. She completed her law studies and was awarded a Juris Doctor degree in 1977 from St. Mary's University. She was proud that she passed the Texas State Bar on the first try and was licensed to practice law in Texas in 1977.

She moved to Dallas in summer of 1977 with Paul. He continued his residency while she pursued her career as an attorney. She started out as a criminal prosecutor, then as a public defender; and then practiced civil law from the 1980s through 1990s.

In 1979 she and her husband welcomed their first-born daughter, followed by a son in 1983. The couple were surprised by twin daughters, completing their family in 1986. She always said she was “a lawyer in her spare time” because of her active family life. She had a close call with breast cancer in the late 90s, which required extensive medical treatment. She was able to beat the odds and survived. Margaret faced another cancer diagnosis in 2012. This time the treatment only required surgery.

Her interests were wide ranging. She and Paul travelled occasionally, to Ireland in 1985, France in the early 2000s, to Italy, Israel, Germany and most recently in 2023 a trans-continental train trip across Canada. She read widely, was active with community activities, completing a “Community Policing” ride along program in Duncanville, and was active in the Church in whatever town she lived in. Her extended family has enjoyed a cabin near Lake Texoma (north of the Dallas metroplex) since she was a girl. Margaret enjoyed getting to share the cabin, the lake and lakeshore with family.

In August 2005 she and her husband moved to Hattiesburg, MS, for his job. This was 2 weeks before Hurricane Katrina visited the Gulf Coast. She helped local lawyers in Mississippi for 2 years under trying post-disaster circumstances, while she studied for the Mississippi Bar exam. She passed the Mississippi State Bar Exam in 2007 and she became independently licensed in that state just weeks before moving back to her home state of Texas.

In 2007, Margaret and Paul moved back to Amarillo, Texas for Paul’s work with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo, for his teaching in the Medical School and Obstetrics Residency there. She began a small, solo practitioner practice in Family Law and Elder Law in Amarillo, while continuing with Wills, estate planning and Probate, as well as Special Needs Trusts and Adult guardianships. Meg had extensive first hand experience navigating the state systems to receive benefits for her own son with special needs. Meg shared her knowledge and experience while also establishing the legal framework to protect families with special needs children often as a gift to the West Texas community. Judges from several counties would call on her to help families in need. She also enjoyed helping the local Amarillo Bar Association put on Continuing Legal Education programs by the Texas State Bar for the local Amarillo lawyers.

During her time in Amarillo (2007- 2024) she helped her extended family through several life changes, and with maintenance of Family Trust legal issues. She was an enormous help to her extended family’s legal needs. During her final illness, her brother said, “We’re going to have to hire four different lawyers to replace all the work she did for us.”

In Spring 2023, Margaret and Paul bought a house in Lubbock to be closer to family there. It took over a year to get the house ready, and they moved to Lubbock in late March 2024. They enjoyed spending time with their eldest children and the local grandchildren, attending sports games and performances. Margaret and Paul celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 13, 2024 surrounded by family and friends at Lake Texoma. Unfortunately weeks later, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She was determined to take chemotherapy and beat this cancer, as she had twice before. After her first dose of chemotherapy, complications led to her rapid decline and death November 28, 2024.

Margaret is survived by her husband, Paul Tullar; her children, Jessica Tullar Caroom (Cyrus); Patrick Tullar, Genevieve Sollenberger (Andrew), Rebecca Tullar West (Dwight); and six grandchildren. She is also survived by her siblings, Michael Morey (Cheryl), Bart Morey (Andrea Spiering), and Liz Morey (Tommy Fulcher). Her charitable interests included food banks in Dallas, Amarillo, and Lubbock. Margaret also contributed to Court Appointed Special Advocates for children (CASA). In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to your local food bank or CASA.

Due to the inclement weather and the safety of family and friends, the Visitation on Friday January 10, 2025 has been cancelled and rescheduled to Saturday January 11, 2025 at St. Monica Catholic Church from 10 am to 12 pm just prior to the start of Mass.

Funeral Mass will be held on January 11, 2025 at 12:00 pm at St. Monica Catholic Church, 9933 Midway Rd, Dallas, TX. A small reception following the Mass will be held in the Fellowship Hall at the church from 1:00 to 1:30pm. Graveside services will be held at 2:30 pm at Calvary Hill Cemetery.