Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 16, 1995 TAG: 9501170101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
Pendleton died Saturday at Lynchburg General Hospital. He was 63.
``Don was a very colorful individual,'' recalled Sen. Elliot Schewel, D-Lynchburg. ``He was a very warm, compassionate and extremely likable individual. He also was quite a fighter for what he thought was right, and he reminded some of his colleagues of a bantam rooster.''
``He was feisty,'' said Del. Vance Wilkins of Amherst. ``He would get up on the floor and take on anybody.''
Wilkins, a Republican, knows what it's like to be taken on by the Democrat on the campaign trail.
``He was a strong competitor,'' Wilkins said. ``He beat me a couple of times.''
Pendleton, a Democrat, was a delegate from 1966 to 1977. He served as chairman of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.
Pendleton was defeated in a five-way race for two seats in the district composed of Lynchburg and Amherst and Nelson counties. Running ahead of him that year was Wilkins, now the House minority leader, and former Del. Joan Jones, a Lynchburg Democrat.
Pendleton was born in Lynchburg. He practiced law for 32 years in Amherst, where he lived for many years. The senior partner in the law firm of Pendleton, Martin, Henderson and Garrett organized the Amherst-Nelson Bar Association, then served as its first president.
He was a graduate of Lynchburg College and the University of Virginia Law School.
Although Pendleton had a reputation as a hard worker both in the House of Delegates and in his law practice, it was his government duties that he once described as stressful.
When asked in 1991 whether he missed being at the state Capitol, Pendleton replied, ``Let's put it this way. I enjoy going to bed at night, I enjoy eating at my own pace. Of course, you miss the people that you served with. But when I go down there now, most of them are gone.''
by CNB