Thomas R. Glass

Last updated
Thomas R. Glass
Member of the VirginiaHouseofDelegates
from the Lynchburg, Virginia district
In office
January 8, 1958 –September 3, 1965
Preceded by Joseph E. Blackburn
Succeeded by William M. Dudley
Personal details
Born May 13, 1928
Lynchburg, Virginia
Died August 25, 1998
Lynchburg, Virginia
Resting place Spring Hill cemetery
Nationality American
Spouse(s) Julia Marguerite Thomason
Alma mater Virginia Military Institute
Washington and Lee University
Occupation publisher, politician
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch U.S. Air Force
Years of service 1955-1957
Rank lieutenant
Unit 18th Fighter Bomber Wing

Thomas Reakit Glass (May 13, 1928 – August 25, 1998) was a Virginia publisher who served from 1958 until 1965 in the Virginia House of Delegates representing the City of Lynchburg. [1]

Virginia House of Delegates lower house of U.S. state legislature

The Virginia House of Delegates is one of two parts in the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the House membership by the Delegates. The Speaker is usually a member of the majority party and, as Speaker, becomes the most powerful member of the House. The House shares legislative power with the Senate of Virginia, the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The House of Delegates is the modern-day successor to the Virginia House of Burgesses, which first met at Jamestown in 1619. The House is divided into Democratic and Republican caucuses. In addition to the Speaker, there is a majority leader, majority caucus chair, minority leader, minority caucus chair, and the chairs of the several committees of the House.

Lynchburg, Virginia Independent city in Virginia, United States

Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 75,568. The 2017 census estimates an increase to 81,000. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or the "Hill City". In the 1860s, Lynchburg was the only major city in Virginia that was not recaptured by the Union before the end of the American Civil War.

Contents

Early and family life

Thomas Glass was born in 1928, the second son of Carter Glass Jr. and his wife Ria Glass. He had an elder brother (Carter Glass III) and two sisters. Their grandfather, U.S. Senator Carter Glass died in 1946 and their father died unexpectedly in 1955. Thomas Glass attended local schools (including E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg), then the Virginia Military Institute and Lynchburg College before graduating from Washington and Lee University with B.A. in journalism. [2]

George Carter Glass Jr., was a Virginia publisher and politician. He represented Lynchburg and Campbell County in the Virginia Senate for one term.

Virginia Military Institute state-supported military college in Lexington, Virginia, USA

Founded 11 November 1839 in Lexington, Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is the oldest state-supported military college and the first public Senior Military College in the United States. In keeping with its founding principles and unlike any other Senior Military College in the United States, VMI enrolls cadets only and awards baccalaureate degrees exclusively.VMI offers its students, all of whom are cadets, strict military discipline combined with a physically and academically demanding environment. The Institute grants degrees in 14 disciplines in engineering, the sciences and liberal arts, and all VMI students are required to participate in one of the four ROTC programs.

During the Korean War, Glass served in the U.S. Air Force, as a first lieutenant with the 18th Fighter Bomber Wing.

He married Julia Marguerite Thomason (1930-2009), style editor of a Huntsville, Texas newspaper in 1951. They had 4 daughters during their 47 years marriage ended by his death. His wife was active in the Junior League, Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and Daughters of the Confederacy, as well as Lynchburg Garden Club and St. John's Episcopal Church. [3]

Daughters of the American Revolution lineage-based membership service organization for women

The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism. The organization's membership is limited to direct lineal descendants of soldiers or others of the Revolutionary period who aided the cause of independence; applicants must have reached 18 years of age and are reviewed at the chapter level for admission. It has 185,000 members in the United States and other countries. Its motto is "God, Home, and Country."

Career

Glass worked in the family business, Lynchburg's daily newspapers the News and Advance, later combined as The News & Advance . He started in marketing and public relations, and rose to publisher. During his tenure, the publishing group added local newspapers in Culpeper, Richlands, and Tazewell and continued publishing until 1979. After the deaths of his mother, uncles and aunt, tax and other issues led to competing offers by Gannett Newspapers and Howard newspapers as well as by a family group he led. The resulting litigation reached the Virginia Supreme Court, [4] and led to their purchase by Worrell Newspapers Inc., which consolidated both Lynchburg newspapers into a single daily morning paper in 1986.

The News & Advance is the daily newspaper of record in Lynchburg, Virginia. Its circulation is approximately 35,600 on weekdays, 35,000 on Saturdays and 41,200 on Sundays. Its primary circulation area consists of the city of Lynchburg and the surrounding counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell.

Culpeper, Virginia Town in Virginia, United States

Culpeper is the only incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,379 at the 2010 census, up from 9,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper County.

Richlands, Virginia Town in Virginia, United States

Richlands is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 5,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578.

In 1958, upon Glass' return from his wartime service, Lynchurg voters elected him as a Democrat to the Virginia General Assembly. He succeeded Joseph E. Blackburn and became that body's youngest member. Earle M. Brown served alongside him in the legislature, representing other sections of Lynchburg, as well as Amherst County. Del. Glass (like Del. Brown) won re-election three times, and served (part-time) in the House of Delegates until resigning in 1965, basically as Massive Resistance collapsed. [5] When house districts became numbered, his district was the 44th in 1962 and 1963, then the became 43rd after the reorganization necessitated by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Davis v. Mann. Glass then served for more than a decade on the State Highway Commission, as well as a member of the State Commission on Public Education.

Democratic Party (United States) political party in the United States

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Democratic Party was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. The Democrats' dominant worldview was once social conservatism and economic liberalism while populism was its leading characteristic in the rural South. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate in the Progressive Party, beginning a switch of political platforms between the Democratic and Republican Party over the coming decades, and leading to Woodrow Wilson being elected as the first fiscally progressive Democrat. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal coalition in the 1930s, the Democratic Party has also promoted a social liberal platform, supporting social justice.

Virginia General Assembly legislative body of Virginia, United States

The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Senate of Virginia, with 40 members. Combined together, the General Assembly consists of 140 elected representatives from an equal number of constituent districts across the commonwealth. The House of Delegates is presided over by the Speaker of the House, while the Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. The House and Senate each elect a clerk and sergeant-at-arms. The Senate of Virginia's clerk is known as the "Clerk of the Senate".

Earle Marshall Brown was a Virginia lawyer and nine-year member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Amherst County.

Glass was active in numerous civic associations, including the Elks, Oddfellows Masons and Shriners. He also served on numerous civic and professional boards, including the Junior Chamber of Commerce, Salvation Army, Retail Merchants Association, American Red Cross chapter, Lynchburg National Bank and Trust Company and the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce (second vice president) [6] In 1956, he received Lynchburg's Distinguished Service Award. [7]

Shriners organization

Shriners International, also commonly known as TheShriners or formerly known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, is a society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

American Red Cross also known as the American National Red Cross, is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education in the United States.

The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as The American National Red Cross, is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the designated US affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the United States movement to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Death and legacy

Glass died on August 25, 1998. He was buried in the family plot at Lynchburg's Spring Hill Cemetery, where his wife joined him a decade later. [8] The Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution honoring his service in 1999. The News & Advance is still published daily, although Worrell Newspapers Inc. sold it to Media General which in 2012 sold its newspaper division to Berkshire Hathaway.

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References

  1. ↑ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The General Assembly of Virginia 1619–1978 (Richmond, Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 720, 726, 731, 737
  2. ↑ legislative memorial 1999
  3. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45219146
  4. ↑ Glass v. Glass, http://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/supreme-court/1984/811690-1.html
  5. ↑ Leonard
  6. ↑ http://dela.state.va.us/dela/Membios.nsf/94f6e9b9c9b5678f85256b1b00732227 /7a1928f7bc05dab585256d6b0066dbd1?OpenDocument&Highlight=0,glass
  7. ↑ Clerk of the House of Delegates, The General Assembly of Virginia 1962-1981 (Richmond, 1983) at p. 202
  8. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Glass&GSiman=1&GScty=153115&GSsr=121&GRid=83242268&
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