The VLW Blog

Of the late Mr. Gouldman, the Free Lance-Star writes, “One of his most cherished accomplishments was his participation in successfully lobbying the [William & Mary] Board of Visitors against the proposed closing of the School of Law in 1939.”

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From the Roanoke Times comes word of the passing of former Rocky Mount lawyer Keister Greer.
From a 1999 news release on the re-appointment of Mr. Greer to the U.Va. Board of Visitors:
“T. Keister Greer has been a member of the Virginia Bar Association for 50 years and the California Bar Association for 45 years, specializing [...]

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Fairfax Circuit Judge David Stitt died Saturday after suffering a heart attack while on vacation in North Carolina. Even if you’re a Fairfax lawyer and familiar with his Texas drawl and direct manner, The Washington Post obituary has information about him that you probably didn’t know.

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Judge Nelson T. Overton, who served on the Court of Appeals from 1995 to 1999, died at his home yesterday. He was 79.
The judge was a circuit judge in Hampton before he became the first judge from the Peninsula to serve on the intermediate court.
The Daily Press has details.

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Professor Neill H. Alford Jr., who taught law at the University of Virginia law school for 41 years, has died at the age of 88.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has an appreciation.

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Senior Judge H. Emory Widener Jr. of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals died yesterday at his home in Abingdon, reports the Bristol Herald Courier. He was 83. Appointed to the bench by President Nixon in 1972, Judge Widener took senior status in July.

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Retired Judge Jack Coulter died last Thursday at the age of 83. He served on the 23rd Circuit, covering Roanoke, Roanoke County and Salem, from 1973 to 1989. In the 1980s, Judge Coulter twice was under consideration for a seat on the Supreme Court of Virginia. The judge practiced law with his son Philip in [...]

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Retired Richmond civil rights lawyer Oliver W. Hill Sr. died this morning at the age of 100, reports The Associated Press.
Mr. Hill was one of the lawyers in the 1954 landmark decision, Brown v. Board of Education. He and his colleague Spotswood W. Robinson represented black students from Prince Edward County. Mr. Hill’s law [...]

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Retired Louisa County Circuit Judge Harold H. Purcell died July 14 at the age of 87.
Judge Purcell served in both the House of Delegates and the Senate before he went on the bench in 1966. In 1958, he patroned the bill that established Virginia’s uninsured motorist laws. When he retired from the bench in 1979, [...]

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Warsaw lawyer Thomas D. Taylor died of cancer July 6. He was 72.
Mr. Taylor was the first black lawyer in the town, according to his family, and he served Warsaw and Richmond County for more than 30 years, they said.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has the story.

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