Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Rawlings, William V., 1975 

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WILLIAM VINCENT RAWLINGS 
SEN. RAWLINGS DIES AT AGE 62 

William V. Rawlings, a member of the State Senate since 1962, died Saturday of 
an apparent heart attack.  He was 62.

Mr. Rawlings died at Southampton Memorial Hospital in Franklin, after he was 
stricken at his home Friday night.

A Democrat, he ran unopposed in November in his bid for reelection for the 
15th Senatorial District, which encompasses an area from Dinwiddie County to 
Suffolk.

Mr. Rawlings won a December 1961 special election to fill the Senate seat 
vacated by Gov. Mills E. Godwin Jr., who had been elected lieutenant governor 
a month earlier.  Mr. Rawlings was elected again in 1963 and served three full 
terms in the Senate.

"He was a man of many accomplishments, a staunch defender of what he believed 
was right for Virginia, and a warm, personal friend," Godwin said Saturday.

Mr. Rawlings, who owned a 700-acre farm, was chairman of the Senate 
agriculture committee.  In recent years, he had been active in trying to 
develop improved campaign practices and financial disclosure laws in the state.

He managed two political campaigns - William C. Battle's unsuccessful attempt 
for the governorship in 1969 amd former 4th District Rep. Watkins M. Abbitt's 
successful run for reelection in 1970.

Before he was elected to the Senate, Mr. Rawlings was mayor of Capron and 
chairman of the Southampton County School Board.  He served as executive 
director of the Virginia Peanut Growers Association for 19 years until he 
resigned in 1969.

He was named 1966 man of the year for his service to Virginia agriculture by 
Progressive Farmer magazine.

Mr. Rawlings graduated from Virginia Military Institute and earned his law 
degree from the University of Virginia.

He had suffered a heart attack in the early 1960's.

Mr. Rawlings is survived by his wife, Mrs. Novella Pope Rawlings; two 
daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth R. Willey of Onancock and Novella Vincent Rawlings 
of Capron, and a son, Arthur Pope Rawlings of Capron.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Mrs. Rawlings' home with 
burial in the Capron Cemetery.

Lt. Gov. John N. Dalton, president of the Senate, is to be part of a delegation 
attending Mr. Rawlings' funeral.

Senators in the delegation will include Edward E. Willey, Elmon T. Gray, 
Willard J. Moody, Russell I. Townsend Jr., and all members of the Senate 
Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committees.


State Sen. William Vincent RAWLINGS, gentleman farmer, former Mayor of Capron, 
Southampton Co. native, d. 27 Dec 1975, Franklin, age 62, 
interred in Capron Cemetery*, 29 Dec 1975, 
"The Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch," Sun., Dec. 28, 1975, p. 43 

*His parents are also buried there. 
   Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project, 
   Capron list (C-34): 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/cemeteries/capron.txt 

His widow's obit ("Virginian-Pilot," July 16, 2000, B9) is posted at: 
http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r452n1ob.txt 

His father's obit ("Tidewater News," Aug. 12, 1932, p. 1) is posted at: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r452e2ob.txt 

His mother's obit ("Tidewater News," Oct. 22, 1948, p. 18) is posted at: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r452i1ob.txt 


Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by 
Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), 
and re-formatted by File Manager. 

file at: 
http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r452w2ob.txt