Richard Poff

POFF, Richard H., died June 27, 2011, in Tullahoma, Tenn. Born October 19, 1923, in Radford, Va., Mr. Poff grew up in Christiansburg, Va., attended Roanoke College, and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law. Serving as a B-24 bomber pilot during World War II, Mr. Poff completed 35 combat missions over Europe and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for Valor, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and the European Campaign ribbon with three battle stars. In 1952, Mr. Poff was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia for ten consecutive terms. A noted Constitutional scholar, Mr. Poff was instrumental in drafting both the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution relating to succession to the Presidency in cases of death, disability, or removal and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. In 1972, Mr. Poff was appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, where he served as an Associate Justice until his retirement and appointment as a Senior Justice in 1989. Mr. Poff was preceded in death by his spouses, JoAnn Topper Poff and Jean Murphy Poff. Mr. Poff is survived by a daughter, Rebecca Marshall, of Woodbridge, Va.; sons, Thomas Poff, of Huntington, W. Va., and Richard Poff and his wife, Lynn, of Tullahoma, Tenn.; four grandchildren, Stephen Marshall, of Midlothian, Va., Stephanie Ryan, of Chantilly, Va., and Ryan and Austin Poff, of Tullahoma, Tenn.; and four great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends at Woody Funeral Home, 1020 Huguenot Rd., Midlothian, Va., from 2 to 4 p.m., on Wednesday, July 6, followed by a memorial service at 4 p.m. Interment will take place at 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 7, at Sunset Cemetery, North Franklin Street, Christiansburg, Va. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer's Association.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.