In August 1941 Philpott married Katherine Apperson Spencer of Lynchburg, Virginia. They had three children, Albert Jr., Judy and Carole. Carole Philpott died in 1955.[3][4]
Legal and political careers
Elected as Commonwealth's Attorney for Henry County in 1951, he won re-election in 1955.[1] In 1957, midway through his second term, he won election to the House of Delegates, a part-time position which enabled him to have a private legal practice, although he could no longer hold the prosecutorial job. In that private legal practice, Philpott represented Bassett Furniture and other companies in southwest Virginia; his cousin Joe Philpott manages the Superior Lines plant for years and before he retired in 1999 supervised thirteen Bassett factories, including two in Georgia and five in North Carolina.[5]
In 1972, Philpott's district, now numbered the 13th, was expanded to a three-member district that also included Pittsylvania County. In 1978, he became Majority Leader and chair of the Corporations, Insurance and Banking Committee.[10] Two years later, he succeeded the retiring John Warren Cooke as Speaker.
Speaker of the House
Philpott blocked a 1982 bill by Senator Douglas Wilder of Richmond to create a state holiday to honor the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. Later that year, he publicly referred to five African-American legislators as "boys", a statement for which he apologized the next day.[11] In 1985, when Wilder was elected the state's first African-American Lieutenant Governor, Philpott provided an early endorsement that Wilder later called a "turning point" in the campaign.[3][12]
Death
Philpott suffered from various forms of cancer for nearly twenty years. On September 24, 1991, he announced he would not continue serving in the House of Delegates. He died at his home on September 28 at the age of 72.[3][13] He was buried in Roselawn Burial Park in Martinsville.[2]
In 1992, the Virginia General Assembly created the A. L. Philpott Manufacturing Center, initially charged with various responsibilities for retraining displaced workers and developing manufacturing technologies in Southside Virginia. In 1997, it was renamed Virginia's A. L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership (VPMEP) and its mission was expanded to help create and maintain industrial and manufacturing jobs throughout the Commonwealth as part of the NIST MEP network.[14]
^Isikoff, Michael (1982-04-24). "House Speaker Apologizes to Va. Black Delegates; Speaker Regrets Remark On Va. Black Legislators". Washington Post. p. A1.
^United Press International (1986-08-19). "Wilder Honors A.L. Philpott For Key Role in Campaign". Washington Post.
^Bauer, Patricia E. (1982-02-21). "Mr Speaker; A Scrapper Controls Helm Of Va. House". Washington Post. p. C1.
Jamerson, Bruce F., Clerk of the House of Delegates, supervising (2007). Speakers and Clerks of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1776-2007. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia House of Delegates.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)