The Shadow
Hampden-Sydney, Va. (VR) – On September 19, 2025, at a meeting on the Hampden-Sydney College Bar Association, the David Marion Award for legal excellence was presented to Covington Attorney, William T. (Bill) Wilson.
The award presentation was made by Virginia Beach Attorney, John Basilone, a noted personal injury lawyer. The “presentation” is quoted as follows:
“Introduction for William T. “Bill” Wilson ’60 I am honored to be asked to introduce this year’s recipient of the David Marion Legal Excellence Award.
The purpose of this award is to recognize an attorney who is part of the Hampden-Sydney College family who has made a substantial contribution to the Law, be it through the practice of law, service to the law or teaching of the law.
The award is named after a truly great man and great professor, David Marion, from whom many of us had the good fortune to take classes when we were students here.
Here at Hampden-Sydney we stand on the shoulders of great men. James Madison and Patrick Henry were charter trustees. The college has had great
Presidents. Among them, Edgar Gammon in my father’s time, Josiah Bunting when I was here. In the years since, General Sam Wilson, Walter Bortz, Larry Stimpert. The college has had truly great professors, Ned Crawley, Ronald Heineman, David Marion for whom this award is named, and so many more. Way too many to mention. And the college has had many truly great alumni. They are people who inspire. They serve as role models for all of us. They truly fulfill the mission of being “Good Men and Good Citizens.” This year’s recipient is such a man. He has made a tremendous positive difference in his community and in the practice of law, especially so in the Virginia State Bar. I want to tell you a little about the man who is this year’s recipient of the David Marion Award.
This year’s recipient was born in Crewe, VA on November 30, 1937 and attended Hampden-Sydney College (Class of 1960) and the University of Virginia School of Law (Class of 1963). He is a resident of Covington, VA, where he has practiced law since 1963. He is licensed as an attorney in Virginia and West Virginia.
His list of accomplishments is truly amazing. It caused me to look in the mirror and ask myself where I have been all my life.
He served in the Virginia Air National Guard for 6 years (1963-1969) where he rose to the rank of Sergeant. He served as a delegate in the House of Delegates in the Virginia General Assembly for 16 years (1974-1990). He has had extensive involvement in the Virginia State Bar, including as a past chair of the Conference of Local Bar Associations of the VSB and of the Senior Lawyers Conference of the VSB, in addition to having served on numerous other VSB committees (the Executive Committee, the Judicial Nominations Committee, the Professionalism Committee, and the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee). He has served as a substitute judge in Alleghany County, and is a past president of the Alleghany- Bath-Highland Bar Association. He is a past member of the Boyd Graves Conference. In 2016 he received the “Champion of Justice Trophy” from the Virginia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). In 2022 he received the Edward L. Chambers, Jr. Award from the Virginia State Bar in
recognition of his devotion of significant time to the VSB.
He has served on many civic boards in his community, including the United Way, the Salvation Army, the Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson River Scenic Trail Commission, the Valley Conservation Council, the Jackson River Preservation Association, the Rotary Club, and the Izaak Walton League.
He is a past president of the Hampden-Sydney College Alumni Association.
He is married to Langhorne “Lang” Clarke Wilson, and together they received the Chancellor’s Award from Dabney S. Lancaster Community College in 2017 for their leadership in philanthropy.
On most days you can find him at altitude in the Alleghany Highlands out near the state line, midway between the Chesapeake and the Ohio, but today fate has smiled on us and he is here with us at our College in the Woods of Southside.
Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Hampden-Sydney Bar Association, and a grateful College, I am honored to call forward and present the recipient of the 2025 David Marion Legal Excellence Award to the Hon. William T. Wilson ’60.”
In accepting the award, Wilson said, “To say that I am surprised is an understatement. Until I heard the words “Crewe, Virginia,” (where I am from), I
did not have a clue as to the award recipient. I finally woke up. It is such a great honor, especially coming from here at Hampden-Sydney where I graduated in 1960. I cannot thank you all enough. Go Tigers! I am especially pleased and honored to receive the award on Hampden-Sydney College’s 250 th Anniversary.”
