Bill Text: VA SJR180 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Walter A. Marston, Jr.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-07 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ180ER) [SJR180 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SJR180-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Walter A. Marston, Jr., an honorable veteran, accomplished attorney, beloved father, grandfather, and friend, and longtime member of the Richmond legal community, died on January 12, 2024; and
WHEREAS, born on March 1, 1944, and raised in Mount Jackson, Walter Marston put himself through college and earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from George Washington University in 1966; and
WHEREAS, Walter Marston earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1969, then began a distinguished legal career that ultimately spanned five decades by prosecuting unscrupulous defense contractors as an attorney with the United States Army; and
WHEREAS, following his honorable discharge, Walter Marston served as an advisor to political campaigns for attorney general and governor before embarking on his career in private practice with the law firm of Hazel & Thomas in 1977; and
WHEREAS, as a partner at the law firms of Hazel & Thomas and Reed Smith LLP, and later as an owner of Marston & McNally, P.C., Walter Marston focused his legal talents on defending the Commonwealth's reserve powers to regulate the manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale of beverage alcohol granted to it under the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, as legal counsel to the Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association and Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association for more than 40 years, Walter Marston dedicated himself to preserving the ability of independent family-owned businesses to provide Virginia consumers with the wide variety of alcoholic beverage products they enjoy today; and
WHEREAS, as a staunch defender of Virginia's three-tier system of alcohol distribution, Walter Marston was instrumental in the development of the Commonwealth's Beer Franchise Act, the 1993 recodification of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act; the 2007 Direct-to-Consumer Shipping Act, and the creation of the Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority in 2015, along with many other achievements to improve and strengthen the Commonwealth's ability to control beverage alcohol within its borders; and
WHEREAS, although Walter Marston was nationally recognized as an expert in the field of alcoholic beverage law, he gave freely of his time and expertise to educate, guide, and mentor generations of family business owners, attorneys, and legislators about the complexities attending this heavily regulated product; and
WHEREAS, even after achieving emeritus status at Marston & McNally in 2021, Walter Marston continued to serve his community pro bono by assisting veterans and health care workers in preparing their wills and estates; and
WHEREAS, despite the demands of his career, Walter Marston still found time to indulge his passion for wood working, gardening and sailing as captain of the Second Wind; and
WHEREAS, Walter Marston will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his children, John and Elizabeth, and his grandchildren, Logan, Mackenzie, and Finley; his fiancé, Mary Lou Magill; her children, Jennifer and Courtney; her grandchildren, Will, Olivia, Jack, Everleigh, and Caroline; his sisters, Phyllis and Dolores; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Walter A. Marston, Jr., a son of the Shenandoah Valley and member of the Richmond legal community whose dedication, integrity, and selflessness were an inspiration to all who knew him; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Walter A. Marston, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.
