Howard Morgan Griffith

“ The wide respect and affection Ben earned is indicated by the statement of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam: “With the passing of Senator Ben Chafin, Southwest Virginia has lost a strong advocate—and we have all lost a good man.” A similar sentiment was expressed by Virginia Delegate Terry Kilgore, a close friend of Ben: “Ben was a fighter, both in the Virginia Senate and in the courtroom as an attorney. I am honored to have been able to know and work with him. Ben is one of the most honorable and genuine individuals I have ever known, and his passing is a tremendous loss for our region.” ”

“ T.A. was known for his kind and charitable nature, taking an interest in the people of his community and his profession and supporting their endeavors. I was a recipient of his generosity. The Stonegate Swim Club which he built and owned had an initiation fee and a membership fee, but he let a single-parent schoolteacher in the area pay the fees in installments for her children so they could use the facility. ”

“ The properties T.A. helped develop dot the landscape of western Virginia. He launched the Double T Corporation with T.D. Steele and also worked in partnerships with other businessmen. Among the locations T.A. helped develop were Crossroads Mall, the first enclosed shopping mall in Virginia, and Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke, University Mall in Blacksburg, Hunting Hills Country Club, properties for the Marriott hotel chain in Roanoke and Blacksburg, and residential neighborhoods including the Stonegate neighborhood and the Stonegate Swim Club. ”