Joseph P. Albright (November 8, 1938 – March 20, 2009) was an American jurist who first served on the

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's State court (United States), state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Char ...

from 1995 to 1996. In November 2000, he was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals for a full 12-year term. (He served from January 2001 until his death in 2009.)

Personal

Albright was born in

Wood County, West Virginia Wood County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 84,296, making it West Virginia's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Parkersburg. The county was formed in 1798 from the west ...

. He married Patricia Ann Deem in 1958; they had four children, Theresa Albright Cavi, Lettie K. Albright Muckley (deceased), Joseph P. Albright Jr. and John P. Albright (deceased). In 1995, a widower, Albright married Nancie Gensert Divvens, becoming stepfather to her three adult children. Albright attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Parkersburg.

Education

Justice Albright earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, cum laude, from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and his law degree from the

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. The school enrolls about 600 students and in addition to the J.D. ...

, where he won the Webber Prize for Appellate Advocacy and was a member of the Notre Dame Law Review.

Career

Albright practiced law in Parkersburg and surrounding counties from 1962 until September 1995. In September 1995, then-Governor Gaston Caperton appointed him to an unexpired term on the Supreme Court of Appeals. He served through December 1996. After his former service on the Court, he resumed his law practice in Parkersburg and Charleston. Since 1959, he has been an officer and director of Albright's of Belpre, Inc., a family corporation which owns and operates Belpre Furniture, a retail furniture business with locations in

Belpre, Ohio Belpre (historically spelled Belpré; pronounced ) is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River across from Parkersburg, West Virginia. The population was 6,728 at the 2020 census. Its name derives from "Belle Pra ...

and Parkersburg. A former assistant prosecuting attorney of Wood County and former city attorney for the City of Parkersburg, Justice Albright was elected to the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature in West Virginia. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular se ...

in 1970 and to six more terms commencing in 1974. He served as Chairman of the House Education Committee (1977–78), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee (1979–84), and as 52nd Speaker of the House of Delegates in 1985 and 1986. He served on a number of boards and commissions, including the Parkersburg Charter Board from 1969 to 1970, when the city adopted a new charter.

Final illness

On September 10, 2008, then-Chief Justice Maynard named former justice Thomas McHugh to temporarily replace Justice Albright, who took medical leave after being diagnosed with

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

.Wheeling Intelligencer
/ref> Albright died in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, aged 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albright, Joseph 1938 births 2009 deaths Businesspeople from West Virginia Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania County prosecuting attorneys in West Virginia Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States Notre Dame Law School alumni Parkersburg High School alumni Politicians from Parkersburg, West Virginia Speakers of the West Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Mendoza College of Business alumni Lawyers from Parkersburg, West Virginia West Virginia city attorneys 20th-century American judges 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century West Virginia politicians 20th-century members of the West Virginia Legislature