William Wirt Brock Jr.

William Wirt Brock Jr., 90, of Richmond, died Wednesday, January 22, 2003. Surviving are a daughter, Angier Brock Caudle and her husband, Robert Keith Caudle Jr.; a son, William Wirt Brock III and his wife, Victoria Dangerfield Brock; four grandsons, Robert Keith Caudle III and his wife, Jennifer Courain Caudle; William Angier Scott Caudle and his wife, Leanne Yanni Caudle; William Wirt Brock IV and John Christian Dangerfield Brock; a granddaughter, Victoria Angier Brock; and two great-granddaughters, Jane Angier Caudle and Lida Francis Scott Caudle. The son of the late William Wirt and Mary Johnston Brock, he was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Lida Duke Stokes; and his sister, Ruth Brock Brock of Pensacola, Fla. He was born in Richmond, grew up in Ginter Park and attended John Marshall High School. In 1934, he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in Business Administration and a commission as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army Reserves. He later received an M.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia where he also worked on his Ph.D. in Education. He was called to active duty in 1941, serving first in the Pacific with the 754th Tank Battallion and then in Europe with the 20th Armored Division. After the war, he returned to Richmond to teach. In 1951, he became principal of Albert Hill Elementary and Junior High School and in 1958, he was appointed principal of Thomas Jefferson High School. In 1969, he retired from the Army Reserves as a Brigadier General. Following his 1976 retirement as principal of T.J., he worked in the Evening Studies and Advising Center of Virginia Commonwealth University. He was active at both the Tuckahoe and West End YMCAs as well as in the West Richmond Kiwanis Club and the Richmond Torch Club. He served on the Board of Stewards and taught Sunday School at Centenary United Methodist Church, 411 East Grace Street, where a memorial service will be held on Sunday, February 2, 2003 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Centenary United Methodist Church, Richmond Hill, the YMCA, or another charity.