Editor’s note: This is the second of columnist Edwin Slipek’s two-part feature of prominent local personalities and leaders who passed away in 2023. Click here to read part 1.
Although Pat Robertson wasn’t a Richmond-area resident, his charismatic presence was felt here. He hailed from a prominent Virginia family, was a zealous Baptist, made bold and often wild pronouncements, and he made himself a ubiquitous media presence. The Virginia Beach lawyer-turned television evangelist died on June 8 at 93. The son of a congressman and United States senator, Robertson was a communicator with international reach through his Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and 700 Club. He also influenced public policy and elections through his Christian Coalition. According to The New York Times: “[Robertson] reshaped American politics from the pulpit.”
Dana B. Hamel is already esteemed as a giant in the annals of Virginia education. The founding chancellor of the Virginia Community College System died on June 23, just weeks short of his 100th birthday. Born in Maine and raised in Pennsylvania, Hamel saw action in the Pacific with the Army Air Force during World War II. After college and grad school he gravitated to Ohio and was dean of the Ohio Mechanics Institute. In 1963 he came to teach at Virginia Tech and the following year was persuaded by Gov. Albertis S. Harrison to establish a statewide system of technical schools. At that time only 30% of the state’s high schoolers went to college. Tirelessly crisscrossing the state, Hamel established 23 campuses in seven years. “He was the father of us all,” said an admirer of Hamel’s daunting achievement. Whether visiting Accomack or Abingdon, the college chancellor optimistically exclaimed: “It’s a great day to be alive in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Architect Edward “Eddie” Augustus Smith III died July 25 at 83. Although Richmond-born, he grew up in Ashland, a town that’s had a propensity for producing prominent local architects for 150 years. Educated at the University of Virginia, Smith’s knowledge of classical design was heightened by attending the Ecole des Beaux Arts in France. He hung his professional shingle as Marcellus Wright Cox & Smith and as Smith+McClane, respectively. His major projects grace the campuses of the University of Richmond, Washington & Lee University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was instrumental for the architectural shift to the more traditional red brick edifices in the VCU complexes immediately east of Belvidere Street.
If he was one of the most mercurial and controversial figures in the Richmond business world over the past 50 years, H. Louis Salomonsky was also one of the most generous and imaginative. The architect and real estate developer died on Aug. 31 at 84. A native Richmonder, he attended Thomas Jefferson High School and the University of Virginia architecture school (when the late Edward Smith was a student there) and returned to his hometown. He began restoring, and in some cases transforming, entire neighborhoods. Perhaps a thousand apartment units in Shockoe Bottom and Scott’s Addition bear his mark. He also restored some mid-century modern buildings and built others that looked like them (not always beautiful). He pioneered the use of innovative historic tax credits to turn the forlorn Maggie Walker High School into the Maggie Walker Governor’s School for Government & International Studies. He was generous in heart and pocketbook and will be missed.
Neverett A. Eggleston, Jr., a son of Jackson Ward’s Second (“Deuce”) Street, whose family has long been associated with what was once known as Richmond’s “Black Wall Street”, passed away on Sept. 8 at 90. The Armstrong High School and North Carolina A&T University graduate was a talented entrepreneur whose businesses ran the gamut from gas stations and auto repair shops to restaurants and motels. He was once the proprietor of the Eggleston Hotel (formerly Miller’s) at 541 N. 2nd St., which his family had operated since 1942. Its walls held perhaps more African-American memories than any other building in town; it had hosted Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Moms Mabley when they played the Hippodrome across the street. Sports stars Satchel Page and Joe Louis also stayed there. Eggleston’s life bridged the Jim Crow era with integrated Richmond. In 1968, he founded the Metropolitan Business League because the state and Richmond chambers of commerce did not allow black members.
Henry Lee Valentine II, a respected figure for almost three quarters of a century in Richmond’s financial district, and a civic leader dedicated to public service and a more inclusionary community city, died on Sept. 21 at 96. The Richmond native attended Woodberry Forest School and UVa where he excelled in sports. After a brief stint in the Army during the latter days of World War II, he joined the Davenport & Company investment firm in 1950 where he served as chairman and would work until 2021. He also served on Richmond City Council for eight years (two as vice mayor) and worked for racial cooperation. To this end he was a founding member and chairman of Richmond Renaissance, a public-private partnership dedicated to reenergizing downtown Richmond. The development of Sixth Street Marketplace, a downtown shopping mall, was a result. He also served on numerous boards, including the Valentine and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond.
Richard S. “Major” Reynolds III died on Sept. 18 at age 89. A former member of the House of Delegates (serving after his late brother, J. Sargeant Reynolds, had passed away in 1971 while serving as lieutenant governor), Major was a keen advocate for civil rights. Among his many civic, decidedly Democratic political, and philanthropic activities, he was co-chair of the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial fundraising committee for a monument in Capitol Square.
“Unbossed and unbought” is how former Democratic Governor L. Douglas Wilder once described Republican Anne Gregory “Panny” Rhodes, who represented Richmond for a decade in the Virginia General Assembly. The vivacious politician died at 81 on Oct. 5. She herself once said: “Anyone who knows me knows that I am not quiet.” Colleagues and constituents alike agreed that Rhodes was tireless in serving Richmond and working across party lines, especially in public education, women’s issues and health care. She was first elected in 1991 and served for five terms in the House.
Thomas J. Bliley, Jr., a former Richmond mayor and U.S. Congressman, died on Nov. 16 at 91. The courtly, bowtie wearing politician was born in Chesterfield County and graduated from Benedictine High and Georgetown University. He served in the U.S. Navy before joining the family business, Bliley’s Funeral Homes (founded in 1874). He served on the Richmond City Council from 1968 to 1977 (as mayor from 1970-1977). From 1981 to 2001, he represented the Virginia Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives. A staunch defender of tobacco interests, he was known as “the Congressman from Philip Morris.” But jaw-droppingly, he later held the industry’s feet to the fire over publicizing the health risks of tobacco use. He was an early advocate of creating a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King.
The delightful Rabbi Jack Spiro, who led Congregation Beth Ahabah and concurrently taught religious studies at VCU for 25 years, was a renaissance man of tremendous intellectual vigor. He died on Nov. 27 at 90. New Orleans-born, he served as a chaplain in the Air Force and was a rabbi in New Jersey before coming to Richmond in 1972. Soon he was engaged in a public, popular, deep, and warm series of debates with the Rev. John Spong of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Together they co-authored a book, “Dialogue: In Search of Jewish-Christian Understanding.” Possessing a tremendous sense of whimsy and humor, Spiro was a champion boxer throughout much of his adult life.
There are few more trusted legacy businesses in Northside than Vonderlehr Tires, which has operated at 2526 Chamberlayne Ave. for 102 years. There were few finer businessmen than John “Jack” Vonderlehr Jr. (son of the company founder), who died on Dec. 2 at age 94. He was educated at Benedictine High School and Mount St. Mary’s College. Predeceased by his son, John III (who also worked at the operation), the company is now led by John Vonderlehr IV. “We’re keeping it all going here,” he told BizSense with a laugh.
Virginia lost a pioneer in broadcast journalism and an inspiration to many aspiring young women and men alike when Bernadine A. Simmons died on Dec. 6 at age 79. “Bernie” as she was known to television audiences of NBC12’s “12 About Town” news program in the mid-1980s, had a flair for spotlighting area events, performances and locations with a keen intelligence, warm laugh, and straight-to-the-point style. This gained her trust and respect among her viewers. A former WWBT colleague told the Richmond Free Press, “Bernie was a badass, bold, tough, uncompromising and wise.”
Editor’s note: This is the second of columnist Edwin Slipek’s two-part feature of prominent local personalities and leaders who passed away in 2023. Click here to read part 1.
Although Pat Robertson wasn’t a Richmond-area resident, his charismatic presence was felt here. He hailed from a prominent Virginia family, was a zealous Baptist, made bold and often wild pronouncements, and he made himself a ubiquitous media presence. The Virginia Beach lawyer-turned television evangelist died on June 8 at 93. The son of a congressman and United States senator, Robertson was a communicator with international reach through his Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and 700 Club. He also influenced public policy and elections through his Christian Coalition. According to The New York Times: “[Robertson] reshaped American politics from the pulpit.”
Dana B. Hamel is already esteemed as a giant in the annals of Virginia education. The founding chancellor of the Virginia Community College System died on June 23, just weeks short of his 100th birthday. Born in Maine and raised in Pennsylvania, Hamel saw action in the Pacific with the Army Air Force during World War II. After college and grad school he gravitated to Ohio and was dean of the Ohio Mechanics Institute. In 1963 he came to teach at Virginia Tech and the following year was persuaded by Gov. Albertis S. Harrison to establish a statewide system of technical schools. At that time only 30% of the state’s high schoolers went to college. Tirelessly crisscrossing the state, Hamel established 23 campuses in seven years. “He was the father of us all,” said an admirer of Hamel’s daunting achievement. Whether visiting Accomack or Abingdon, the college chancellor optimistically exclaimed: “It’s a great day to be alive in the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Architect Edward “Eddie” Augustus Smith III died July 25 at 83. Although Richmond-born, he grew up in Ashland, a town that’s had a propensity for producing prominent local architects for 150 years. Educated at the University of Virginia, Smith’s knowledge of classical design was heightened by attending the Ecole des Beaux Arts in France. He hung his professional shingle as Marcellus Wright Cox & Smith and as Smith+McClane, respectively. His major projects grace the campuses of the University of Richmond, Washington & Lee University and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was instrumental for the architectural shift to the more traditional red brick edifices in the VCU complexes immediately east of Belvidere Street.
If he was one of the most mercurial and controversial figures in the Richmond business world over the past 50 years, H. Louis Salomonsky was also one of the most generous and imaginative. The architect and real estate developer died on Aug. 31 at 84. A native Richmonder, he attended Thomas Jefferson High School and the University of Virginia architecture school (when the late Edward Smith was a student there) and returned to his hometown. He began restoring, and in some cases transforming, entire neighborhoods. Perhaps a thousand apartment units in Shockoe Bottom and Scott’s Addition bear his mark. He also restored some mid-century modern buildings and built others that looked like them (not always beautiful). He pioneered the use of innovative historic tax credits to turn the forlorn Maggie Walker High School into the Maggie Walker Governor’s School for Government & International Studies. He was generous in heart and pocketbook and will be missed.
Neverett A. Eggleston, Jr., a son of Jackson Ward’s Second (“Deuce”) Street, whose family has long been associated with what was once known as Richmond’s “Black Wall Street”, passed away on Sept. 8 at 90. The Armstrong High School and North Carolina A&T University graduate was a talented entrepreneur whose businesses ran the gamut from gas stations and auto repair shops to restaurants and motels. He was once the proprietor of the Eggleston Hotel (formerly Miller’s) at 541 N. 2nd St., which his family had operated since 1942. Its walls held perhaps more African-American memories than any other building in town; it had hosted Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday and Moms Mabley when they played the Hippodrome across the street. Sports stars Satchel Page and Joe Louis also stayed there. Eggleston’s life bridged the Jim Crow era with integrated Richmond. In 1968, he founded the Metropolitan Business League because the state and Richmond chambers of commerce did not allow black members.
Henry Lee Valentine II, a respected figure for almost three quarters of a century in Richmond’s financial district, and a civic leader dedicated to public service and a more inclusionary community city, died on Sept. 21 at 96. The Richmond native attended Woodberry Forest School and UVa where he excelled in sports. After a brief stint in the Army during the latter days of World War II, he joined the Davenport & Company investment firm in 1950 where he served as chairman and would work until 2021. He also served on Richmond City Council for eight years (two as vice mayor) and worked for racial cooperation. To this end he was a founding member and chairman of Richmond Renaissance, a public-private partnership dedicated to reenergizing downtown Richmond. The development of Sixth Street Marketplace, a downtown shopping mall, was a result. He also served on numerous boards, including the Valentine and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond.
Richard S. “Major” Reynolds III died on Sept. 18 at age 89. A former member of the House of Delegates (serving after his late brother, J. Sargeant Reynolds, had passed away in 1971 while serving as lieutenant governor), Major was a keen advocate for civil rights. Among his many civic, decidedly Democratic political, and philanthropic activities, he was co-chair of the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial fundraising committee for a monument in Capitol Square.
“Unbossed and unbought” is how former Democratic Governor L. Douglas Wilder once described Republican Anne Gregory “Panny” Rhodes, who represented Richmond for a decade in the Virginia General Assembly. The vivacious politician died at 81 on Oct. 5. She herself once said: “Anyone who knows me knows that I am not quiet.” Colleagues and constituents alike agreed that Rhodes was tireless in serving Richmond and working across party lines, especially in public education, women’s issues and health care. She was first elected in 1991 and served for five terms in the House.
Thomas J. Bliley, Jr., a former Richmond mayor and U.S. Congressman, died on Nov. 16 at 91. The courtly, bowtie wearing politician was born in Chesterfield County and graduated from Benedictine High and Georgetown University. He served in the U.S. Navy before joining the family business, Bliley’s Funeral Homes (founded in 1874). He served on the Richmond City Council from 1968 to 1977 (as mayor from 1970-1977). From 1981 to 2001, he represented the Virginia Seventh District in the U.S. House of Representatives. A staunch defender of tobacco interests, he was known as “the Congressman from Philip Morris.” But jaw-droppingly, he later held the industry’s feet to the fire over publicizing the health risks of tobacco use. He was an early advocate of creating a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King.
The delightful Rabbi Jack Spiro, who led Congregation Beth Ahabah and concurrently taught religious studies at VCU for 25 years, was a renaissance man of tremendous intellectual vigor. He died on Nov. 27 at 90. New Orleans-born, he served as a chaplain in the Air Force and was a rabbi in New Jersey before coming to Richmond in 1972. Soon he was engaged in a public, popular, deep, and warm series of debates with the Rev. John Spong of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Together they co-authored a book, “Dialogue: In Search of Jewish-Christian Understanding.” Possessing a tremendous sense of whimsy and humor, Spiro was a champion boxer throughout much of his adult life.
There are few more trusted legacy businesses in Northside than Vonderlehr Tires, which has operated at 2526 Chamberlayne Ave. for 102 years. There were few finer businessmen than John “Jack” Vonderlehr Jr. (son of the company founder), who died on Dec. 2 at age 94. He was educated at Benedictine High School and Mount St. Mary’s College. Predeceased by his son, John III (who also worked at the operation), the company is now led by John Vonderlehr IV. “We’re keeping it all going here,” he told BizSense with a laugh.
Virginia lost a pioneer in broadcast journalism and an inspiration to many aspiring young women and men alike when Bernadine A. Simmons died on Dec. 6 at age 79. “Bernie” as she was known to television audiences of NBC12’s “12 About Town” news program in the mid-1980s, had a flair for spotlighting area events, performances and locations with a keen intelligence, warm laugh, and straight-to-the-point style. This gained her trust and respect among her viewers. A former WWBT colleague told the Richmond Free Press, “Bernie was a badass, bold, tough, uncompromising and wise.”
You overlooked business titan and community leader, Brenton Shaw Halsey. He too was instrumental in racial cooperation. Brent, along with other corporate leaders, initiated 10th Street Market Place to open the door to economic opportunity for all in Richmond. It was Brent’s vision that lead to the development and reconstruction of the Riverfront Canal Walk.
Hi John, Brent was mentioned in the December 22nd story. The link is above at the top of this article. And I agree with your sentiments!
Excellent series Mr. Slipek – thank you for shining the spotlight on these life-long community leaders. This is certainly due to fewer folks reading the daily newspaper – which makes it more difficult to see the daily obituaries. I do hope you run a Part 3+!