Gov. Tomblin orders state flags lowered in honor of former State Sen. Charles Lanham

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today ordered state flags at the State Capitol Complex and all state-owned facilities in Mason County be lowered from dawn to dusk Saturday, December 19, 2015, the day of services celebrating the life of former West Virginia State Sen. Charles Lanham.
 
“I was able to be with Sen.  Lanham this fall as we broke ground on the last segment of U.S. 35, a highway that he worked tirelessly to see completed,” Tomblin said. “I appreciate all of his efforts over the years to improve his local community and our state, and Joanne and I extend our sincere sympathies to his family and friends.”
 
Senator Lanham was born in Ripley, West Virginia on September 12, 1928, the son of late Edgar Stanton Lanham and West Lucretia (Jones) Lanham. After graduating from Ripley High School, he served in the United States Army. He attended Marshall College (University) on the G.I. Bill and received his bachelor’s degree in business administration. 
 
He began his career in banking at the First National Bank of Ripley in 1952 and served in a number of capacities at Citizens National Bank in Point Pleasant and Ohio Valley Bank until his retirement in 2008.
 
Lanham was appointed to the West Virginia Senate in 2005 and served the remainder of the unexpired term. 
 
For more than 40 years, Lanham worked on the expansion and completion of the Route 35 Highway Project, serving as co-chairman of the Route 35 Committee. In 2015, Tomblin joined Lanham and family for the groundbreaking of “Fruth-Lanham Highway.”
 
Lanham served on numbers boards and was an active member and officer of a number of organizations including the American Bankers’ Association, West Virginia Bankers’ Association, Marshall University Lewis College of Business Advisory Board, Pleasant Valley Hospital Board of Trustees, West Virginia Hospital Association Board of Directors, Mason County-Point Pleasant Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Marshall University Alumni Big Green Club and the Marshall University Presidential Advisory Board.

He is survived by his wife, Lilly Faye (Staats); four children, Terry Higgins, Joyce Berryman (Jeff); Eddie Lanham (Patricia), and Charles D. Lanham; and his grandchildren, Alyssa Higgins, Monica Higgins (Liz Plunkett), Rebecca Higgins, Clair Berryman (Steve Hennigar), Tyler Berryman, Stanton Lanham III (Shelley), Meredith Lanham, Christina Niemer (Greaham), Elizabeth Lanham, and Emily Lanham. He is also survived by his great-grandchild, Kadi Higgins; two brothers, Paul Lanham (Helen) and Bob Lanham; two brothers-in-law, Eddy Lee and Frank Mays; and several nieces and nephews. Lanham was preceded in death by two sisters, Peggy Lee and Diann Mays; and sister-in-law, Sue Lanham.