Bill Text: WV HR5 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Enrolling a Memorial to an extraordinary individual, the Honorable Joseph Blair Talbott, former Member of the House of Delegates from the County of Webster, educator, public servant and friend
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2014-01-20 - Completed legislative action [HR5 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2014-HR5-Introduced.html
House Resolution No. 5
[By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Miley, Offered on Behalf of the Entire Membership]
[Unanimously Adopted by the House on January 20, 2014]
“Enrolling a Memorial to an extraordinary individual, the Honorable Joseph Blair Talbott, former Member of the House of Delegates from the County of Webster, educator, public servant and friend.”
Joseph Blair Talbott was born January 23, 1933, in Webster Springs, West Virginia, the son of the late William Reginald and Opal Jarvis Talbott, and the grandson of W. T. Talbott, who was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1897.
Joe received his education in the public schools of Webster County and attended Potomac State College before earning a Bachelor’s degree in physics and a Master’s degree in education from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He was active in sports, and played football for Wesleyan and Potomac State, and he played tennis for Wesleyan.
Joe Talbott taught and coached in Webster County schools and at Shinnston High School in Harrison County, and his students benefitted from his love of, and dedication to, education. As an aging adult, he imparted knowledge gained from his life experiences and served as a quiet mentor to those who allowed him to enter their lives.
Joe married Sue Legg, and they were the proud parents of two daughters, Sherri and Kelli, all of whom survive him.
He served in the U. S. Marine Corps, and was a member of the Marine Corps League and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was also a member of the National Rifle Association, Ducks Unlimited, Sugar Creek Hunt Club, the Lions Club and Webster Springs Main Street.
In 1992, he was first elected to the House of Delegates, representing Webster and part of Nicholas Counties. He was reelected in 1994, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, and served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Revision in the 72nd and 76th Legislatures, respectively, and as Chair of the Committee on Natural Resources in the 80th Legislature.
Joe Talbott held the legislative process in the highest esteem, and he fiercely believed in government of the people, government by the people, and government for the people. The constitutional principles of fairness and equality were sacred to him, and he firmly held that a majority view on any matter did not of itself render the best decision. He devoted his full strength to the preservation of those principles.
The memory of Joe Talbott will endure for years to come, not only in those whose lives he touched, but in the statutes he helped to craft and to enact; therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That it is with the deepest regret that this House of Delegates formally extols the life of Joseph Blair Talbott, legislator, friend, educator and public servant; that we collectively deplore his passing, while at the same time we inscribe into the archives of the House of Delegates that he was indeed here, and that he served his beloved State of West Virginia and his constituents with honor, dignity and fairness; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare certified copies of this Memorial for Sue Legg Talbott, his widow; and for Sherri Wong and Kelli Talbott, his daughters.
