DAVID LAURANCE YETT

David Laurance Yett, former Fort Worth City Attorney, died September 1, 2025, leaving behind a deep legacy of public service in the city he loved and called home.

Born on January 15, 1955, in Rosebud, Texas to Adrian Laurance and Jacqueline Depew Yett, David graduated from Rosebud-Lott High School in 1973 and was admitted to Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1977. In 1979 he received his law degree from Baylor Law School. He was admitted to the State Bar of Texas and subsequently to practice in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Northern District of Texas.

For over three decades David dedicated his career to the City of Fort Worth. In 1980, he joined the city’s legal department where he was involved in a variety of issues related to economic development. In February 2000, he was appointed Fort Worth City Attorney. In that role David was recognized for his good judgment, decisiveness, intellect, and organizational skill. He took pride in his work on transformative projects that helped shape the city’s identity, including the creation of the Texas Motor Speedway, the renovation of downtown’s Blackstone Hotel, and his collaborative work on the repeal of the Wright Amendment. He served as City Attorney until January 29, 2011. Upon his retirement, he was recognized by the 82nd Texas Legislature via Senate Resolution 284 for his outstanding service to the City of Fort Worth.

He was a member of the International Municipal Lawyers Association and a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, whose membership is comprised of Texas attorneys of high professional standing dedicated to the law and to the cause of justice. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $29 million in grants to charitable organizations across Texas. David also served on the Board of ETT

Directors of the Fort Worth City Credit Union.

Outside of work, David was deeply loved by his family and close-knit circle of friends. They loved him for his kindness, wisdom, laser sharp wit, and his wicked sense of humor. He and his wife, Maureen were avid baseball fans who, along with friends, faithfully supported the Texas Rangers from yearly spring training to the culminating World Series victory in 2023. David and Maureen also celebrated all Baylor athletic programs and rarely missed a Baylor Bears football game. As devoted patrons of the arts, David and Maureen celebrated the wealth of cultural and concert opportunities in Fort Worth, including David’s love for “classic” country music. Together they traveled extensively across the United States and abroad to attend operas, classical concerts, and art exhibitions.

David and Maureen’s willingness to participate in a host of memorable (and always entertaining) adventures will be missed, and he will be remembered for his remarkable ability to face life’s challenges with a characteristic brand of courage, dignity and grace.

David was preceded in death by his wife, Maureen; his parents, Jacqueline and Adrian Yett; his brother, Michael Depew Yett; his twin brother, Daniel Lee Yett; and Maureen’s parents, Minnie and Art Rice.

He was survived by sister, Melanie Pritchett and husband, James of Austin, TX; brother, Stephen Yett and wife, Kristi of Brenham, TX; sister-in-law, Jennyne Bilsky and husband, Irvin of Austin, TX; sister-in-law, Marlena Rice of Kyle, TX; and brother-in-law, Tom Rice of Baton Rouge, LA. David is also survived by a number of nephews and nieces, for whom he will always be remembered as a fun loving and favorite uncle.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday November 1, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. in Greenwood’s Live Oak Chapel, 3100 White Settlement Rd., Fort Worth, Texas 76107. A luncheon reception for family and friends will immediately follow in the Live Oak Room.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts be made to one of the following: - The Yett Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97050, Waco, Texas, 76798-7050. (Please note that the gift is in memory of David Yett.)

- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital - The American Cancer Society