Robert (Bob) W. Mann, 81, of Martinsville, died suddenly of a heart attack Saturday, April 27, 2019, while playing golf in Myrtle Beach, SC. He was born October 7, 1937 in Albemarle County, Virginia and grew up in Stuart, Virginia. Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Rev. Robert J. and Irene W. Mann.
He attended Stuart High School and graduated from Fork Union Military Academy. He received a B.A. from Carson-Newman College (magna cum laude) and was an honors graduate of the T.C. Williams School of Law of the University of Richmond. Upon graduation he served three years active duty in the Marines, including a tour in Vietnam and was discharged with the rank of Captain.
Bob has had a civil trial practice since 1967, and was one of the first lawyers in the state to be certified as a civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in 1983; selected as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, which includes the top 1 percent of the Trial Bar in 1986; president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association in 1987; selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 1998; named in “The Best Lawyers in America” for most of the organization’s history; and, named as one of the Virginia’s Top Lawyers in Richmond Magazine’s Super Lawyers Section in 2006-07 and Who’s Who Top Lawyer, 2016.
Bob also held membership in the National Board of Trial Advocacy, Virginia State Bar, Virginia Trial Lawyer Association, Virginia Super Lawyers, and the Etheridge Society. He also held Member Emeritus in the Judicial Conference of the Fourth Circuit.
Bob was a Past-President of the Stuart Rotary Club. In 1997, he served as Master of the Piedmont Masonic Lodge, a member of the Elks Lodge and has been active in many civic affairs.
Bob practiced law for 53 years with the last 50 years with the Law Office of Young, Haskins, Mann, Gregory, McGarry & Wall, PC, up until his death.
He was an avid golfer and long-time member of Chatmoss Country Club. He loved the game of golf and passed away doing what he loved with the people he loved.
Surviving is his loving wife Kellie Mann, sister Elizabeth Owen of Richmond, VA, daughters Lisa DiMona (Joe) of Hastings on Hudson, N.Y and Amy Slate of Mt. Airy, NC. Grandchildren, Meredith Robbins (Bryant), Margaret Ann Slate, Alessandra DiMona, and Matthew DiMona. Uncle Jim Wagner, one of his favorite golfing buddies.
Bob will be missed by his law colleagues, golfing buddies and friends, far and wide.
Memorials, in Bob’s memory, may be made to the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA), 919 East Main Street, Suite 620, Richmond, VA 23219.
Visitation will be held Thursday, May 2, 2019, at McKee-Stone Funeral Home, Martinsville, from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Funeral service will be held Friday, May 3, 2019, at 11:00 a.m. in McKee-Stone Chapel.
The interment with full Military Honors will follow at the Patrick Memorial Gardens in Patrick County, VA.
