Former Gov. A. Linwood Holton Jr., a Life Member of the VBA, has died. He was 98.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, also a former governor of Virginia, tweeted, "I mourn the loss of my father-in-law Linwood Holton. He was my friend and public service role model. His courageous efforts to end racial discrimination in Virginia — born out of deep religious conviction about the equality of all God’s children — made him a moral pillar for so many."

Gov. Holton earned his law degree in 1949 and joined the VBA in 1952. He served as governor of Virginia from 1970 to 1974.

In 2014, the VBA bestowed its highest honor on him, its Distinguished Service Award, later renamed for another former governor, Gerald L. Baliles. Gov. Holton shared the honor recognizing dedication to public service that year with former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

Baliles presented the award. "Their stories are bound by a thread that traces the progress of justice, equality and opportunity in our commonwealth,” Baliles said, specifying that Gov. Holton made his mark in 1969 as the first Republican governor in Virginia in 100 years and opposed Massive Resistance from the moment that he entered politics.