TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Col. William L. Holford (Ret.) 1943-2023 U.S. Air Force
to graduate.
2002, taking the position of Senior Status Judge. He was also a mediator. Canady served on the boards of Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC), Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Charleston, and the West Virginia Society for the Blind and Severely Dis- abled. He was a lifelong member of the NAACP. He received the “Fair- est Judge” award from the West Virginia Trial Lawyers Association for 1985-1986 and was presi- dent of the West Virginia Judicial Association in 2001. He was inducted into the West Virginia State University ROTC Hall of Fame as an Honorary Member and was a 2005 West Virginia Civil Rights Day honoree. He was also a member of the Sigma Pi Phi (Boulé) Fraternity. Brother Herman G. Canady, Jr., was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Joyce Anna Canady Carter. He leaves to cherish his memory: his loving and devoted wife, Barbara; daughters, Cheryl Canady, Dottie Teraberry (Peter) and Jacqueline Nicole Canady; granddaughter, Zora Teraberry; and a host of other relatives, friends and admirers. ♦
Canady was the first African American lawyer to work for the Legal Aid Society of Charleston, representing low-income clients. Before being appointed to the bench, He Canady was an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Kanawha County. During his years as an attorney, he practiced before the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In March 1982, West Virginia Governor Jay Rockefeller appointed Canady to the position of Circuit Judge of Kanawha County and was the first African American to hold that position. Canady was elected to the position in 1984, 1992, and in 2000. In 1989, his colleagues selected Canady as the Chief Judge in the Circuit and he served in that capacity again in 1998. He also sat by special assign- ment on the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Supreme Court of Appeals. He was well respected and thoughtful, and served with distinction, treating everyone with civility and respect. He always carried a concern for the less for- tunate. Canady retired in
C olonel William L. Invisible on January 21, 2023. The second of the children, William Leroy Holford was born in Topeka, KS on March 26, 1943, to the late Edward and Elizabeth (née Ston- estreet) Holford. Holford earned B.A. degree in business admin- Holford (Rho 1963) entered the Chapter istration in 1966 from Washburn University of Topeka, KS. He later earned an M.A. degree in management and supervision from Central Michigan University. While in college, he joined Air Force ROTC. After graduation, the U.S. Air Force initially assigned Holford as a weapons controller with the 738th Radar Squadron, Olathe, Naval Air Station, KS. He then was assigned for short tour duty as Operations Officer of the 640th Air- craft Control and Warning Squadron, Stephenville,
Newfoundland. Next was a four-year tour of duty with the highly mobile 607th Tactical Control Squadron, Luke A.F.B., Arizona. In 1972, he volunteered and was selected for flying duty with the 7th Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center Squadron, Korat AB, Thailand. He flew 95 combat missions there, amassed over 1100 flying hours, and partici- pated in Linebacker I and II - two major U.S. Air interdictions campaigns. He completed this tour as a squadron Standardiza- tion/Evaluation Officer. Holford served briefly with the 609th Tactical Control Squadron, Cannon A.F.B., New Mexico, then was selected for assign- ment to the Air Staff, Pentagon Building, Wash- ington D.C. He served in the Command Control and Communications Direc- torate as Program Element Monitor for airborne and ground based Tactical Air
46 THE JOURNAL ♦ SPRING 2024
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