Nansemond-Sussex County-Suffolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....West, Col. Junius E., 1947 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ Funeral Services For Col. Junius E. West Set Here Tomorrow The Board of Deacons of the Suffolk Christian Church will act as honorary pallbearers at the funeral services of the late Col. Junius E. West at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon at the Christian Church. The Philathea Class, which Col. West taught for 30 years, and the members of the Board of Trustees of Elon College will attend the rites in a body. Dr. John G. Truitt, pastor of the Christian Church, will conduct the services, and the choir will sing "How Firm a Foundation," "Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand," and "Rock of Ages." Active pallbearers will be: Oscar H. West, Washington, D.C.; John W. West, Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y.; Alton T. West, Martinsville; Rosser B. West, Newport News; Caleb D. West, Jr., Newport News; Cabell West, Waverly; and E.P. Montgomery and King Meehan, both of Newport News. Both in business and civic organizations as well as in public office, West rendered conspicuous service for the development of commercial facilities, and the raising of the standards for education, and in promoting the all-round development of his section of Tidewater Virginia. He was the patron of the State Purchasing Act, the West bill to abolish the fee system in Virginia and the act of providing for medical and dental inspection of school children, and need his influence in behalf of good roads, better schools, the enforcement of law and development of the port of Hampton Roads. Known as Colonel West West was known to his friends as "Colonel West," the title having been appended when he was a member of the staff of Governor Claude A. Swanson. In 1909 he was elected to the House of Delegates and after one term in the lower House of the Legislature was elected to the State Senate, where he served two and a half terms. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1921 after a hard fight which resulted from his opposition to the Virginia fee system, and was re-elected without opposition in 1926. After two terms as lieutenant governor, under Governors E. Lee Trickle and Harry F. Byrd, West sought the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in opposition to John Garland Pollard, but withdrew his candidacy because of poor health. Subsequently he devoted his efforts to his insurance business in Suffolk, and at the time of his death was senior member in the insurance firm of West & Withers. West was born July 16 [sic; 12], 1866, near Waverly, Sussex County, a son of Henry Thomas and Susan T. (Cox) West. In the process of obtaining a liberal education, he taught school for several years. After his public achool training, he was a student at Suffolk Collegiate Institute, the University of North Carolina, and studied law at Washington and Lee University and the University of Virginia. He served for nearly two years as county superintendent of schools for Sussex County, and since 1890 had made his home in Suffolk. He was a member of the firm of Harper & West until 1906, and since then of the firm of West & Withers. In former years he was chairman of the Democratic Committee of Nansemond County, a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee. He served as president of the Democratic Clubs of the State, was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1896, and at one time was president of the Suffolk City Council. On Elon Board He was a member of the board of trustees of Elon College, of North Carolina, and formerly was a member of the board of trustees of the Farmville State Teachers College. During World War I he served as chairman of the United War Work campaign in Suffolk and Nansemond County. West, a prominent layman of the Christian Church, being a member of the board of deacons and trustee of Suffolk Christian Church for many years, chairman of the Mission Board for the Eastern Virginia Conference of the Mission Board of the Southern Congregational Christian Convention. He was a Mason, Knight Templar and Shriner, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Feltons, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Junior Order United American Mechanics, a charter member and former president of the Suffolk Rotary Club, a past president and director of the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Laurel Cliff Country Club of Suffolk. Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Ollie Beale West, of Suffolk; a daughter, Mrs. Margaret West Frazier, of Bon Air, and a brother Caleb D. West, of Newport News, all of whom were at his bedside when he died. Also surviving are three grandchildren, Henry Bowen Frazier, 3rd, Junius West Frazier and Billy Frazier. [photo, captioned:] COL. J. E. WEST ****************************************************************************** Conduct Last Rites For Colonel J. E. West Last rites for Col. Julius E. West, who died early Wednesday morning at a Richmond Hospital, were conducted at 3 o'clock this afternoon at the Suffolk Christian Church. Dr. John G. Truitt, pastor, officiated. The pall was of Easter lilies and fleched fern. The church choir sang, "How Firm a Foundation," and "Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand." Dr. Truitt read a tribute to Col. West. Active pallbearers were Oscar H. West, Washington, D.C.; John W. West, Jr., Scarsdale, N.Y.; Alton T. West, Martinsville; Rosser B. West, Newport News; Caleb D. West, Jr., Newport News; Cabell West, Waverly; and E.P. Montgomery and King Meehan, both of Newport News. Honorary pallbearers were members of the Board of Deacons of the Suffolk Christian Church and burial was in Cedar Hill Cemetery. Members of the Philathea Class of the church, which Col. West taught for 30 years, and members of the Rotary Club, and Board of Trustees of Elon College, of which he was a member, attended in groups. ****************************************************************************** Col. Junius E. West This afternoon many of the people of Suffolk will gather together to pay tribute to a man and his deeds, as he journeys the last few steps to the final end of the paths of glory. None who attend the services, none who are acquainted with the character of beloved Junius E. West, will doubt that in his passing Suffolk has lost one of the men of great stature who have helped to give the city a unique prominence in the state of Virginia. It will be fitting that the last services for this man are not in the nature of a private ceremony, but rather a public expression of sorrow that one of the finest men of Suffolk, of Tidewater, and yes, of the state has come to the end an outstanding career of service. It was in the arena of public affairs that Colonel West attained his greatest heights. And to the day of his final illness it was this field which attracted hia most intense interest and was to him most vital. In spite of the fact that he had passed the age in which an ordinary man is particularly concerned over affairs of government, Colonel West was always deeply interested in the political developments of Virginia and of the nation. His term in the lower house of the Virginia assembly; his many years in the state senates and his two terms as lieutenant-governor of the Old Dominion so steeped his person and mind in the process of government, the daily interplay of politics and the growth of his state, that there was no minute development in city, county, or state affairs which passed him unobserved. The record of his public service has been written many times. Everyone is familiar with the deep interest which he had in the educational system of Virginia. And that was not unnatural since he had started his career of service in the public schools of the state. With his insight into human frailty, his knowledge of the deficiencies of the public schools in which he had served and his love of Tidewater Virginia, it is understandable that a man of his force, integrity and foresight would cut a wide swathe in the deliberative halls of the Virginia Assembly. And so he did. But to the majority of the present generation in Suffolk he was known not only for his past greatness, although everyone was familiar with it, but his acute perception and grasp of the problems of today. While Colonel West ten years ago passed his allotted three score ten, he was not one whose powers had so diminished that he could recollect only the triumphs of an earlier year. He retained, far beyond the normal capacity, an alertness and appreciation of events and a faculty for recognising the underlying causes of state and national trends. While he was today a conservative, he had not lost the factual approach which had seen him rise to renown in his early days as a progressive in state affairs. His death and his last rites are not properly a cause for deep mourning. They are rather the occasion on which Suffolk and Virginia will pay their respects to a man who has lived a life full of service to his fellows. It is unfortunately true that this type and degree of acknowledgement of contribution are rarely rendered to any in life. As Suffolk pays its last tribute to Colonel Junius E. West, it can be a hope and a prayer that from the example which he set may arise another who will live as full a life; render as great service to his city, state and nation; and be as outstanding an example of the innate and sublime dignity of man. Col. Junius Edgar WEST, former Lieutenant Governor, Delegate & state Senator, former teacher, editor, Suffolk Councilman & insurance agent, b. 12 Jul 1866, Sussex Co., d. 1 Jan 1947, Richmond, interred in Cedar Hill Cemetery (Block H, Lot 91*), Suffolk, 6 Jan 1947, "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 24, No. 237, Thurs., Jan. 2, 1947, p. 1; "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 24, No. 238, Fri., Jan. 3, 1947, pp. 3 & 4 *Additional information: Cedar Hill list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_v.txt Photos of Col. WEST - added by James Dillard, pMcP, & N.A. Hatfield - and one of his gravestone - added by Steve Poole - are posted with Find a Grave Memorial #8153673. His in-laws, Rev. Edwin W. & Eliza Jane (FAUCETT) BEALE, are buried in Block F, Lot 106: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_a.txt D.Cert. 536 (Richmond #1) Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by File Manager Matt Harris (zoobug64@aol.com). file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/w230j6ob.txt