THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 25, 1995 TAG: 9509250021
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: BELLE HAVEN LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
Lucius James Kellam Jr. died at Mount Pleasant in Belle Haven, Va., on Sept. 24, 1995.
Mr. Kellam was born in Belle Haven on Sept. 25, 1911, the son of Caroline Hargis Polk Kellam and Lucius James Kellam Sr. He was raised on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and attended St. James School in Hagerstown, Md., where he later served as a member of the board of trustees for many years. Thereafter, he attended Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, a ``Little'' All-American tackle on Trinity's football team, an all-conference track and field participant and the recipient of an honorary doctor of science degree in 1972.
After serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in World War II, Mr. Kellam returned to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. He purchased a company called Sturgis Oil Company in 1935, changed the name of the company to Kellam Distributing Co., Inc., in 1946 and over the years created a large petroleum distribution and sales organization called Kellam Energy, Inc. that transacted substantial business throughout the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.
Mr. Kellam's principal civic activity during his lifetime was his involvement with the travel industry. He was appointed to represent the Eastern Shore on the Travel Council of Virginia. Shortly thereafter, he became involved with the Chesapeake Bridge & Tunnel Commission. He was its first chairman when it was organized in 1954 and remained in that position until 1993, guided and focused discussions with the Department of the Navy that led to governmental approvals to allow construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and the negotiations that led to the financing of this project. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel was completed and opened on April 15, 1964. It was named for him in 1987. He was a director of the International Bridge and Tunnel Society from 1962 to 1964. Mr. Kellam was first appointed a director of the Tidewater Automobile Association in 1941, served as its president from 1977 to 1979 and continued to serve as a director until his death.
Mr. Kellam was involved in numerous activities throughout Virginia. He was a director of National Bank of Commerce and then Virginia National Bank before his retirement in 1982. He was a member of the Tidewater Regional Health Planning Council from 1968 to 1976, a trustee of Eastern Virginia Medical Foundation, a trustee and member of the executive committee of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation.
Mr. Kellam received a number of awards. He was the recipient of the Unsung Virginian Award in 1989, was named Virginia Chamber of Commerce ``Man of the Year'' in 1965 and received the Virginia Travel Council Travel Award in 1966. Rotary named him a Paul Harris Fellow in 1989 on the joint nomination of all three Eastern Shore Rotary Clubs.
Mr. Kellam was also active on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. His principal activities involved two local banks, Northampton-Accomack Memorial Hospital and St. George's Episcopal Church. He was a past chairman and a director of Shore Savings Bank and a director of Peoples Trust Bank in Exmore, Va. He was also a past president and trustee emeritus of the hospital and served as senior warden and a member of the vestry for a number of years at St. George's Episcopal Church in Pungoteague, Va.
Mr. Kellam is survived by his wife, the former Dorothy Douglass, a son, Lucius J. Kellam III of Belle Haven; a daughter, Douglass Kellam Patterson of Virginia Beach; seven grandchildren, Lucinda Kellam Jones, Lucius James Kellam IV, Whittington Polk Kellam, Anna Kellam Huff, Hugh Scott Patterson, Christopher Polk Patterson, Caroline Kellam Patterson; and three great-grandsons.
A graveside service will be conducted by the Rev. Harry Crandall in the old family cemetery at Mount Pleasant at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 1995.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. George's Episcopal Church in Pungoteague, Va. 23422. Arrangements are by Doughty Funeral Home, Exmore, Va.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB