Hansell Merrill Pasco

PASCO, Hansell Merrill, retired Richmond lawyer and last surviving member of the WWII U.S. Army General Staff, died at his home in Richmond on Friday, November 28, 2008. Merrill Pasco was born in Thomasville, Ga. on October 7, 1915, son of John and Katherine Merrill Pasco and grandson of United States Senator Samuel Pasco of Florida. He was the president and valedictorian of his 1933 high school class in Monticello, Fla., and played catcher on the school's state championship baseball team. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1937 with academic distinction as a Cadet Captain and Regimental Adjutant. While a cadet, he received the Cincinnati Medal "for efficiency of service and excellence of character," set conference records in the 100 and 220 yard dashes and reached the finals of the 1936 Olympic trials. VMI selected Pasco for both its Athletic Hall of Fame and Distinguished Service Award. Pasco obtained his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School, graduating with academic distinction. He was a member of the DKE Fraternity, the Order of the Coif, Phi Delta Phi Honorary Fraternity and the Raven, Eli Banana and "Z" societies. In June 1940 Pasco began his law career in Richmond with the firm now known as Hunton & Williams. This was prior to his being called to active duty in February of 1941, where he served as an Assistant Secretary and later, Secretary of the War Department General Staff in Washington, D.C. from December 1941 until November 15, 1945. During this time he had a close and daily association with General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. For his Army service with General Marshall, Pasco was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He was also made an honorary Officer of the Order of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by King George VI. He was promoted to Colonel in the U.S. Army at the age of 29 when he became Secretary of the War Department General Staff in 1945. After his war service, Pasco returned to Hunton & Williams and helped build it into one of the South's premier law firms. He was the firm's managing partner for more than ten years in the 1960s and 1970s. He became Senior Counsel in 1980, but continued to serve as counsel for the Hot Springs Corporation, Stratford Hall, and Hollywood Cemetery until he fully retired in 2000. Pasco was active in the community. He served for two terms and was chairman of the State Council of Higher Education. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Seminary for two four-year terms. He served as member and chairman of the VMI Foundation and a member of the Board of the George C. Marshall Foundation. He was a director, a member of the Executive Committee, Vice President and Counsel to Hollywood Cemetery for more than 40 years. He was a board member and chairman of the Children's Home Society of Virginia. He was instrumental in the organization of Chippenham Hospital and was a board member and counsel for a number of years. He was a board member of Christ Church School, chairman of the Board of St. Catherine's School, a trustee and vice president of the Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia, a member of the Diocesan Missionary Society, and trustee of the Diocese of Virginia from 1966-2007. He was general counsel and secretary of Virginia Hot Springs, Inc. from 1972-2000 and was for many years counsel for the Robert E. Lee Memorial Foundation. He was a past president of the Richmond Rotary Club, a member of the Board of the Richmond YMCA, and a board member of the Commonwealth Club of Richmond. He was a member of the Country Club of Virginia and the Richmond German. In 1946 he joined St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, where he served as Sunday School Superintendent, vestryman, Junior and Senior Warden, Chairman of its Endowment Fund, and member of the Board of St. Paul's Church Home. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Carrington Lancaster Pasco, and their four children, Hansell Merrill Pasco Jr. of Hilton Head, S.C., Dabney Lancaster Pasco and his wife, Laura, of Hot Springs, Va., Robert Lancaster Pasco of Strasburg, Va., Carrington Pasco Brown and her husband, Trigg, of Richmond, Va.; 13 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren; and his brother, John Pasco Jr. On Wednesday, December 3, there will be a private interment service at Hollywood Cemetery, followed by a memorial service at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Grace Street, Richmond, Va. at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the George C. Marshall Foundation, the VMI Foundation, St. Paul's Episcopal Church or the Westminster-Canterbury Foundation.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.