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Obituaries

W. Joe Hoppe

W. Joe Hoppe, a longtime senior assistant city attorney in Richmond died July 26 of cancer. He was 62.

A graduate of the University of Virginia and its law school, Mr. Hoppe earned three varsity letters as a tight end, the last of them while attending law school.

He clerked for Supreme Court of Virginia Justice Thomas C. Gordon Jr. and worked at the Mays & Valentine, now Troutman Sanders, before joining the city attorney’s office. He tried cases involving public safety, risk management and workers’ compensation and also served as general counsel to the GRTC Transit System.

Survivors include his wife of 39 years, Kathleen Levy Hoppe, two sons and a daughter.

Herndon P. Jeffreys Jr.

Herndon P. Jeffreys Jr., a retired Richmond attorney and longtime Democratic Party activist, died July 21 in a nursing home in Johnson City, Tenn. He was 85.

Mr. Jeffreys had a general practice for more than 60 years as a sole practitioner or as a member of such small firms as Jeffreys, Hooker & Eck, Jeffreys, Gayle & Boyles and Bowles, Anderson & Boyd before it became what is now Sands, Anderson, Marks & Miller.

A native of Chase City, he attended Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Virginia and graduated from the University of Richmond law school.

Mr. Jeffreys served as president of the Richmond Bar Association, as a member of the Council and the Executive Committee of the Virginia State Bar, and as a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association representing the VSB.
Survivors include a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.

Beverly B. Bowers

Beverly Bay Bowers, a retired juvenile and domestic relations district judge in Harrisonburg, died July 5 at Rockingham Memorial Hospital. He was 88.

A native of Timberville, Judge Bowers was a graduate of the University of Richmond law school and practiced law in the Harrisonburg area before his appointment to the bench in 1970. He retired in 1992.

He was pilot in World War II and served in the Philippines and post-war Japan.

William I. Moncure

Judge William Irby Moncure, the mayor of Blackstone for 29 years before being appointed a general district judge in 1974, died at a nursing home June 15. He was 96.

A native of Blackstone, Judge Moncure graduated from the College of William and Mary and the University of Richmond law school in the Great Depression. He began his law practice in Blackstone after doing land acquisition work in Baltimore for the Army Corps of Engineers.

He served Nottoway County as a Selective Service officer in World War II and was long active in the Democratic Party.
Survivors include two sons, a daughter four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

John F. Rixey

John F. Rixey, a retired attorney who practiced in Norfolk and Virginia Beach, died May 31 at his home in Virginia Beach.

A native of Norfolk, Mr. Rixey was a graduate of the University of Virginia and its law school. He was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1954 to 1960 and was president of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in 1972 and served on the State Council of Higher Education.

Mr. Rixey was a member of the U.Va. tennis team, a seven-time Norfolk city tennis champion and Virginia state tennis doubles champion. He was a founder and former president of the Tidewater Tennis Center Inc.

Survivors includes his wife of 35 years, Emily Sheffield Rixey, three children, a stepson, a stepdaughter, nine grandchildren and four stepgrandchildren.

Eugene W. “Bud” McCaul

Eugene Williamson “Bud” McCaul, a Hanover County attorney, died May 27 at his home in Mechanicsville. He was 91 and still practicing law.

Mr. McCaul was a graduate of the University of Richmond and its law school and was an instructor at the school from 1947 to 1952. He served as a naval intelligence officer in the Pacific theater in World War II.

He practiced law for 68 years, most of the time with McCaul, Grigsby, Pearsall, Manning & Davis – now Pearsall & Pearsall – in Richmond.

Mr. McCaul joined what is now of McCaul, Martin, Evans & Cook PC in Mechanicsville in 1986, where he was regarded as a leader in real estate and zoning law in the county. Projects included King’s Charter, Hanover’s first planned community.

Survivors include his wife of 29 years, Hiroko Takemura McCaul, a son, a daughter, a stepson, a stepdaughter and four grandchildren.

Claude E. Setliff

Claude Erwin Setliff, a native of Danville and a graduate of the University of Richmond law school, died June 9 at a hospital in Plano, Texas. He was 85.

Mr. Setliff held a chemistry degree from the University of Virginia was a senior patent attorney with Mobil Oil Corp. He served in the Army Air Corp in World War II.

Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Lee Sowers Setliff, two daughters, five children and two great-grandchildren.

William M. Harris

William M. Harris, a retired Norfolk attorney and a former president of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, died May 23. He was 83.

Mr. Harris was a member of the law firm of Harris, Fears, Davis, Lynch & McDaniel. He was a graduate of the College of William and Mary and the University of Richmond law school. He served in Europe in World War II as a bombardier-navigator in the 12th Air Force.

Survivors include his wife, Roberta Mahone Harris, two sons and two grandsons.

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