Obituary

Charleston native william t. Brotherton iii passed away peacefully on friday, july 1^st, in his hilton head, sc home at the age of 62 after a long battle with cancer.

William is survived by his mother ann caskey brotherton of charleston, wv; his wife melea brotherton of hilton head, sc; his son aaron, wife hillary and their two children ““ jane and william – all of camas, wa; sisters laura brotherton and elizabeth gorrell of charleston, wv; and is preceded in death by his father william t. Brotherton jr. Of charleston, wv.

Will was born on december 5^th, 1953 in charleston, wv. He grew up in south hills and attended holz elementary, thomas jefferson jr. High, and george washington hs where he met his high school sweetheart and the love of his life melea. Following in his father’s footsteps, will attended washington & lee university where he was an active rotc member, named a ncaa all-american athlete for swimming, inducted into both omicron delta kappa and phi beta kappa national leadership honor societies, and graduated in 1975 with a ba in history. Will received his j.D. From west virginia university in 1978 and began a distinguished law career with spilman, thomas & battle that lasted over 25 years. Will joined the newly formed brickstreet mutual insurance company in 2006 as vice president of legal services. He was dedicated to serving his community and was elected in 1982 as a representative to the city council of charleston and was minority leader from 1983-1991, as well as chairman and board member of the charleston civic center board and chairman of the charleston bicentennial committee. His dedication to serving others extended to his parish as well, serving on the st. Matthews episcopal church vestry. He also enjoyed participating in the weekly worship services in many capacities.

In his personal life, will was a die-hard cincinnati reds, green bay packers and nascar fan, loving nothing more than listening to a sporting event on the back porch with a guinness. Always active, some of will’s closest friends came from his days of swimming, golfing, running, and cycling, with plans in his later years to travel to europe and ride several stages of the tour de france. Will was also a man of surprises who took on life’s challenges, becoming a pilot to overcome his fear of flying, and conquering his questionable singing voice by hiding in ensemble casts of local theater productions which he loved immensely. Most importantly, will was an amazing husband to his loving wife melea with whom he shared 39 wonderful years and countless walks on the beach, and an incredible father to his son aaron, who cannot thank him enough for the values he instilled in him and showing him what it means to be a dedicated and loving husband, father, and grandfather.

A celebration of will’s life is scheduled for friday, july 15th at 1:00 at st. Matthews episcopal church officiated by will’s close friend father john hagan. A reception will follow at the church. All are welcome to attend and join the family in remembering will. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to st. Matthews episcopal church, 36 norwood road, charleston, wv  25314 or the mary babb randolph cancer center, morgantown, wv. The family would like to thank everyone who knew will for blessing him with a wonderful life full of friends, laughter and love.