J. Paul Councill, Jr.

Franklin – James Paul Councill, Jr., who for 32-years represented the 75th District in the Virginia House of Delegates, passed away March 25, 2007. A son of the late
J. Paul Councill, Sr. and Irva Winslow Councill, he was born in Southampton County and was a graduate of Westtown Prep School, West Chester, PA. After attending Swarthmore College for two years, he volunteered and went into the U.S. Army Air Corps. Obtaining his commission and wings there, he then attended Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Fla., and spent the last part of World War II performing air-sea rescue work in the South Pacific Theater. Delegate Councill, a Democrat whose district has included the Cities of Franklin and Emporia, Southampton, Isle of Wight, Greensville, Sussex and Surry counties, was a farmer and owner of Councill's Florist and Gift Shop. Delegate Councill also served for ten years on the Southampton County Board of Supervisors. He was a member of the Hunterdale Ruritan Club, a member and a Paul Harris Fellow with the Franklin Rotary Club and co-founder of the James L. Camp Jr. YMCA. He was a member of Franklin Congregational Christian Church.
Survivors include his wife, Genie Marks Councill; two sons, James P. Councill, III, and wife, Bambi, of Franklin and Christopher Marble Councill and wife, Jan, of Atlanta, Ga.; a brother, Phillip A. Councill and wife, Jane, of New Kent, Va.; sister-in-law, Sally M. Councill of Williamsburg, Va.; nine grandchildren, Jay (IV), Will, Clay, Jordan, Ann and Daniel, Matthew, Andrew and Mallory; nine great-grandchildren; extended family, Bob and Patsy Marks, Dale and Madeline Marks, Mike and Debbie Marks, Camp and Michelle Marks, Terri Marks, and nine grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Patricia Marble Councill, and a brother, Edward Winslow Councill.
The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Workforce Development Center of Paul D. Camp Community College, Franklin campus. Interment, with military honors, will follow at 3 p.m. at Poplar Spring Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Wright Funeral Home and other times at the residence. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Southampton Academy, 26495 Plank Rd., Courtland, VA 23837 , the Franklin City Educational Foundation, Inc, P.O. Box 96, Franklin, Va., 23851 or a charity of choice.