McGhee, William Jefferson
William Jefferson McGhee, 81, of Christiansburg, Va., and a lifelong Hokie fan, passed away on Tuesday, March 25, 2008, at Lewis-Gale Hospital.
Born February 15, 1927, in Pike County, Ky., he was a 1947 graduate of Andrew Lewis High School. He attended V.P.I. where he graduated in 1951 with a BS in Business Administration and continued on to Washington and Lee where he received a Bachelor of Law Juris Doctor degree in 1955. He was a United States Navy veteran who served in World War II – Philippine Liberation, and after the war, served with the occupation forces in Korea.
In 1955 he joined forces with William Craft Jr. to form Craft & McGhee, one of the oldest law partnerships in the New River Valley. The practice was centered on the civil area for the towns of Christiansburg, Radford and Floyd. He was elected as a representative of the 36th Judicial Circuit to Virginia State Bar Council, served as president of the MontgomeryFloyd-Radford Bar Association, and served on the Board of Governors of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association. He was the attorney for the Montgomery County and Floyd County Industrial Development and Public Service Authorities and served as alternate judge of the Floyd County Court for more than five years. He participated in financing for the Montgomery Regional Hospital and the development of the New River Valley Mall. He was president of the Montgomery County Development Corporation and the Christiansburg Industrial Corporation for more than 36 years and was active in the location of numerous industries in Montgomery and Floyd Counties, and the acquisition and development of the Christiansburg Industrial Park. William McGhee retired from his law practice in 1997 and then served as Town Attorney for Christiansburg until his retirement from law in 2005.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Lelia Turner McGhee and John Kenna McGhee; brothers, Lester C. McGhee, Paul E. McGhee, Robert L. McGhee, Arthur T. McGhee and John L. McGhee Sr.; sisters, Grace M. McGhee, Mary Louise McGhee and Elizabeth M. Titlow. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Frances Salmons McGhee; one daughter, Elizabeth McGhee Wilbourne and husband, James Wilbourne; one son, David K. McGhee and wife, Kirsten J. McGhee; two sisters, Alice M. Sellew, Knoxville, Tenn and Frances M. Ehlenfeldt, Salem; one brother, J. Donald McGhee and wife, Phyllis, Lynchburg; two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Robert McGhee, Salem, and Mrs. Paul McGhee, Roanoke; one brother-in-law, Frank Titlow, Blacksburg; nieces, Jo Anne Neal, Rogers, Ariz., Martha Ayers, Queen Creek, Ariz., Helen Jane Blount, Winston-Salem, N.C., Mary Alice Miller, Atlanta, Ga., Sandra Stone, Salt Lake City, Utah, Sally Trimmer, Knoxville, Tenn., Lisa E. Cable, Richmond, Dawn Ehlenfeldt, Roanoke, and Stephanie Flowers, Lynchburg; nephews, John L. McGhee Jr., High Point, N.C., Clyde Gillespie Jr., Blacksburg, Gene Gillespie, Saluda, and Craig McGhee, Redmond, Wash.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, March 30, 2008, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Horne Funeral Home, Christiansburg. Funeral services will be held there at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 31, 2008. Interment will follow at Sherwood Memorial Park, Salem.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73123-1718 or Christiansburg Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 176, Christiansburg, Va. 24068. Online condolences may be sent by visiting www.hornefuneralservice.com. Arrangements by Horne Funeral Service, Christiansburg, Va., 540-382-2612.