THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, June 11, 1996 TAG: 9606110279
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 69 lines
Richard B. Kellam
VIRGINIA BEACH - Judge Richard Boykin Kellam, 87, of the 2300 block of Princess Anne Road, died June 8, 1996, in the home in which he was born May 30, 1909.
Judge Kellam was the 13th of 16 children born of the late A.E. Kellam and Clara Eaton Kellam.
He attended Nimmo United Methodist Church throughout his life, and was a member for 78 years. He was a member of the church administrative board and was chairman of the Capital Improvement Committee. He also served as lay leader for more than 20 years and taught the Adult Bible Class for more than 30 years.
He was educated at home and in the public schools of Princess Anne County, and graduated with the Kempsville High School Class of 1926.
He read law in his brother Floyd E. Kellam's office and was admitted to the Virginia Bar in December 1933. He practiced law with his brother Floyd before serving in World War II.
During the war, he served in the U.S. Army with the Office of Strategic Services, attached to the 1st Army Headquarters in England and later as a paratrooper with the 12th Army Group in Europe.
In November 1945 he returned home and practiced law with his brother Edwin C. Kellam in Norfolk.
On Sept. 6, 1947, he was married to the former Alice S. Malbon, daughter of Philip J. Malbon Jr. of Norfolk.
On June 1, 1960, he was appointed to the Circuit Court of the 28th Judicial Circuit of Virginia and served in that position until Sept. 1, 1967, when he was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He served as Chief Judge of that court from July 1, 1973, to May 30, 1979. He assumed status as a Senior Active Judge on May 30, 1981, and continued in that position until his death.
Judge Kellam served on the National Judicial Conference Committee for the Administration of the Federal Magistrates System from 1973 to 1980 and was the representative of the Eastern District of Virginia to the Conference of Metropolitan Chief Judges for 15 years. On invitation, Judge Kellam served on the Federal District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeals in 10 states. Judge Kellam took particular pleasure administrating the naturalization ceremonies of new U.S. citizens at the Colonial Capital in Williamsburg, for the last 20 years.
He was the original counsel for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District Commission and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Authority.
He was a 32nd degree mason and a member of the Princess Anne Mason Lodge (NU)25 and Royal Order of Jesters. He was a former member of the Commission of Fisheries of the Commonwealth of Virginia; a past president of the Norfolk Lions Club, the Norfolk Executives Club and the Tidewater Automobile Association. He served on the executive committee of the Tidewater Automobile Association until he is death. He was a member of the DePaul Medical Center Advisory Committee for over 25 years. He was an honorary member of the Princess Anne Ruritan Club, a member of the Pyramid Club and the Princess Anne Country Club. He was a member of the executive committee and fund-drive chairman of the Red Cross and the Anti-Tuberculosis League.
Judge Kellam is survived by his wife, Alice; two sons, Richard B. Kellam Jr. of Paris and Philip J. Kellam, and his wife, Andrea N. Kellam, of Virginia Beach; a daughter, Martha K. Stone of Virginia Beach and her husband, Meade G. Stone Jr. of Virginia Beach; a brother, William P. Kellam of Virginia Beach; and two grandsons, Meade G. Stone III and Alexander C. Kellam, both of Virginia Beach.
A funeral will be conducted at noon today in Nimmo United Methodist Church by the Rev. John B. Morris and the Rev. Warren L. Reeves. Burial will be in Nimmo United Methodist Church Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Nimmo United Methodist Church Endowment Fund. The family will receive friends after the services at the family home. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel, is handling arrangements.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB