Longtime Texas bond lawyer Charlie Almond has died

Charles Lynn "Charlie" Almond, a veteran bond lawyer and retired partner at Bracewell, died Nov. 16 at Houston Methodist Hospital. He was 70.

Almond had more than 45 years of experience practicing law and specializing in federal income tax matters when he retired from Bracewell in August. Almond joined Bracewell after retiring from Vinson & Elkins in 2011.

Charles Lynn "Charlie" Almond

Almond’s practice included structuring and counsel on a wide variety of governmental and private-activity-bond financings, the firm said.

Friends recalled him as a dedicated golfer and devoted fan of his alma mater Vanderbilt University and of the University of Tennessee, who was known for his ready smile.

Born in Cleveland, Tennessee, Sept. 30, 1949, he was the youngest child of Harold Cox Almond and Ruthanna Stratton Almond.

He was valedictorian of Cleveland High School’s class of 1967 and graduated from Vanderbilt University magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1971. He earned his law degree in 1974 from Vanderbilt Law School, where he was Order of the Coif and managing editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.

He moved to Houston 1974 as an associate at Vinson & Elkins, where he became a partner in 1981 and gained national recognition for his expertise in federal income tax matters relating to state and local government bonds and public finance.

In 1984, Almond moved to Vinson's Washington D.C office, where he dealt extensively with congressional, Treasury and Internal Revenue Service personnel on both technical and tax policy issues relating to public finance.

He returned to the Houston office, where he continued his public finance tax practice until retiring in December 2011. Almond joined Bracewell LLP as a partner in the public finance section in January 2012.

He was past committee chair of the American Bar Association's Committee on Tax-Exempt Financing. He was also a past board member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers, a past chair of the Bond Attorneys Workshop, and a member of the American College of Bond Counsel. He was recognized in Woodward/White's Best Lawyers in America publication from 2005 through 2018.

A devoted golfer, Almond won the J.L. Worsham Memorial tournament at Houston Country Club with his golf partner and friend, Fisher Trigg. He also achieved a rare hole-in-one. He was a member of Houston Country Club, Sea Island Club, and The 116 Club.

He was a longtime member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, where services were held Nov. 25.

Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Margaret "Peggy" Stein Almond of Houston and St. Simons Island, Georgia; son, Alexander Gilmer Almond of Houston; two daughters, Lauren Alaine Almond Bickel of Dallas and Heather Stratton Almond of New York; sister Ann Almond Pope of Chattanooga, Tennessee; and three grandchildren.

Memorials may be directed to the Houston Country Club Employee Scholarship Fund, One Potomac Drive, Houston, Texas 77057; Employee Children's Scholarship Fund, Sea Island Foundation, Attn. Frankie Strother, P.O. Box 30351, Sea Island, Georgia, 31561, or the charity of one's choice.

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