Judge John Preston

John Baldwin Preston VIRGINIA BEACH - The Hon. John Baldwin Preston of Bluffton, S.C, formerly of Virginia Beach, died in his home Dec. 6, 2008, surrounded by his loving family. Judge Preston was born in Norfolk Sept. 9, 1924, the youngest of three sons born to Robert Baldwin Preston and Merle Page Preston. Judge Preston graduated from Granby High School in Norfolk. He was a World War II Army veteran of the European Theater, fighting from Normandy on D-Day to Czechoslovakia at war's end. After the war, Judge Preston continued to serve his country by joining the National Guard. He attended the University of Virginia and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee and also graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Law. He passed the Virginia Bar in 1953 and established what became a successful and prominent Tidewater law firm with his elder brother, Edwin Page Preston, who predeceased him. In 1979, he was appointed to the Virginia Beach General District Court, a position he held with distinction until his retirement in January 1997. He continued to substitute for judicial colleagues until April of 2007. In June 2007, he and his wife of 61 years, Carol Richardson Preston, moved permanently to Bluffton, an area the family had come to love after vacationing for many years on Hilton Head Island. Judge Preston has left to cherish his memory his wife and four children, his son, John Baldwin Preston Jr. of Leesburg, Va.; and three daughters, Carol Page Preston, Keith Baldwin Preston and Sarah Preston Moleda, of Bluffton and Hilton Head Island. He is also survived by one son-in-law, Carlos Alberto Moleda and one daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Sherman Preston; as well as three grandsons, William Preston Dee, Spencer Baldwin Moleda and Will Sherman Preston; other family members, friends and colleagues. During his lifetime, he was a member of Galilee Episcopal Church, The Virginia Club, the Chesapeake Gaming Association, The Virginia Opera Board of Directors, the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Assemblies and the Princess Anne Country Club. Judge Preston was a devoted husband, father and grandfather, an attorney and jurist of the utmost professionalism and integrity, and a loyal and constant friend. His keen intelligence, quick wit and selfless love for his family and friends will be greatly missed. A private interment service will be held in the Preston Cemetery at Smithfield Plantation on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va. Memorial donations may be made to the Virginia Beach Rescue Squad and/or to Smithfield Plantation, 1000 Smithfield Plantation Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060-5441. Sauls Funeral Home of Bluffton, S.C., is assisting the family with their arrangements. www.saulsfh.com.