Our Team
Marie Austin
Licensed Title agent & Closing AgenT
Marie is a licensed title insurance agent for Farmers & Lawyers Title Company, LLC. She joined the FLTC team in 2019 in the Hugoton office, and earned her title agent license in June 2020. During her time at Farmers & Lawyers, Marie has assisted with hundreds of successful real estate closings, and has helped the company grow year after year.
Marie’s favorite parts of the job are exploring tangled title issues that arise and learning more about her chosen field. A low-stress, seamless closing is the goal for every transaction - big or small.
Marie has called Hugoton home her entire life. She and her husband Brian, along with their 3 children, enjoy playing golf and cheering on the University of Oklahoma football and softball teams. Boomer Sooner!
Melissa Meraz
Administrative assistant
Melissa joined Graber & Johnson Law Group, LLC and Farmers & Lawyers Title Company, LLC as a part-time administrative assistant in August of 2020. In July 2021, Melissa switched to full-time. Melissa is a big asset to the company as she does all of our Spanish translating.
Melissa grew up in Elkhart and graduated from Elkhart High School in 2010. She enjoys spending time with her husband Christian, sons Carlos and Ezekiel, and the rest of her family. She enjoys traveling and visiting the mountains and beautiful rivers that come with it.
Darrel E. Johnson
Attorney & Licensed Title Agent
Darrel E. Johnson, attorney and counselor-at-law, is the senior partner of Graber & Johnson Law Group, LLC, Manhattan, Kansas, which he and long-time colleague, Steven W. Graber, formed in 2014 with the merger of White & Johnson, LLC, Elkhart, Kansas, and Steven W. Graber, P.A., Manhattan, Kansas.
Darrel is a graduate of Hugoton High School, Hugoton, Kansas, 1969, MidAmerica Nazarene University, Olathe, KS, 1973, and the University of Kansas School of Law, Lawrence, Kansas, 1976.
He is a Founding Member of WealthCounsel, a national organization of attorneys that practice in the area of estate and business planning. WealthCounsel provides education of its members in cutting-edge strategies and support for drafting the documents necessary to implement those strategies. Darrel has been a lecturer for WealthCounsel at its annual national conference and consults on a regular basis with WealthCounsel firms across the country.
Darrel is admitted to practice law in Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma. His law practice is concentrated primarily in the areas of business, estate, retirement and tax planning. Many of his clients are involved in production agriculture or oil and gas production, so he has extensive knowledge of the issues specific to those industries.
In addition to client work, Darrel frequently consults with and lectures to attorneys, accountants, financial planners, insurance professionals, and the public concerning estate planning, business planning, retirement planning, and tax planning issues.
Darrel lives with his wife, Linda, in Manhattan and frequently works out of the firm’s Elkhart office, and meets with clients in other areas across the state. In addition to the practice of law, he helps his sons manage the family ranch in Stevens County, Kansas. He also serves his church as a member of the Pensions & Benefits Board of the Church of the Nazarene and as a member of the Board of Trustees of MidAmerica Nazarene University.
Taysa Hernandez
Licensed Title Agent & Closing Agent
Taysa joined our Elkhart office in January 2016 as an administrative assistant for Graber & Johnson Law Group, LLC where she began assisting on Morton County real estate research and closings. As of June 2020, Taysa works full-time for Farmers & Lawyers Title Company, LLC, as a licensed Title Agent.
Taysa grew up in Elkhart and graduated from Elkhart High School in 2012. Taysa later attended Seward County Community College. Taysa enjoys spending time with her husband, Yuset, and two sons, Xander and Lennox. She has a daughter due in 2024.
Jeremiah W. Johnson
Attorney & Licensed Title Agent
Jeremiah resides in Hugoton, Kansas and manages our offices in Elkhart and Hugoton. Jeremiah graduated from the University of Kansas in 2000 where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Jeremiah earned his law degree from Arizona State University College of Law, and he has been admitted to practice law in Kansas since 2005. Jeremiah has handled a wide variety of real estate transactions since then as an attorney and as a licensed title agent.
Jeremiah grew up on his family’s farm south of Rolla, Kansas, and still enjoys helping on the farm and working in the family business. Because of his close ties to the family farm, Jeremiah loves working with families in the agriculture industry.
During his free time, Jeremiah absolutely loves hunting and fishing and is dedicated to protecting hunting and fishing opportunities for future generations.
Jeremiah attends Sovereign Redeemer Church in Hugoton, Kansas where he serves as a deacon and plays guitar and sings with the praise and worship band.
Jeremiah is a down-to-earth, easy going, people person.
Jeremiah’s clients say that the one thing that draws their attention is the way Jeremiah explains legal matters in terms they can relate to and understand. He and the Farmers & Lawyers Title Company, LLC team are dedicated and confident in their ability to help their customers with their real estate sales or purchases and look forward to helping our customers and community.