Oil on canvas, 31 x 26 in., by Dorothy H. Drew, 1972. Location: courtroom, rear.

Born October 19, 1923 in Radford, Virginia.
Died June 27, 2011 in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Appointed by Governor Linwood A. Holton, Jr. on May 31, 1972 to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Thomas C. Gordon, Jr. and began his service on August 31, 1972. First elected by the General Assembly on January 31, 1973 to a 12-year term beginning February 1, 1973. Service terminated by retirement.

Education:

Attended Roanoke College.
University of Virginia, LL.B., 1948.

Professional career:

Private practice of law in Radford, Virginia, 1948-1972.
U.S. representative from Virginia, 1953-1972.

Military service:

World War II (Navy).

Further reading/Research collections

Sources:

Appointed, Helen Dewar, “Rep. Poff Named To Va. High Court: To Quit Congress Early,” The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973) [Washington, D.C.], June 1, 1972: C1; qualified, 213 Va., iii; elected, Journals of the Senate of Virginia, 1973 Session, 223; attended Roanoke College, Roanoke College Archives; law degree, Class Notes, UVA Lawyer, (Fall 2011), retrieved on April 28, 2014; retired and designated senior justice, 237 Va., iii; stepped down from service as senior justice, 264 Va., v; death, The Washington Post, June 30, 2011, B7; birth, education, career, and military service, transcript of portrait presentation on November 1, 2005, published in 271 Va., ix-xiii, and Martindale Hubble Law Directory (Summit, NJ: Martindale-Hubble, Inc.); 1972 edition; portrait, Ray O. Hummel, Jr., and Katherine M. Smith, Portraits and Statuary of Virginians Owned by the Virginia State Library, the Medical College of Virginia, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Other State Agencies (Richmond, Va.: The Virginia State Library, 1977), 95. Poff served the court as a senior justice (retired) from January 1, 1989 to August 16, 2002.