Mr. Grover Cleveland Outland, Jr., 91, retired trial attorney, citizen-soldier, and lifelong resident of Tidewater, passed away peacefully, in Onancock, May 23, 2019. He was the fourth child and only son of Lida Anne Maddox Outland of Somerset County, Md., and Grover C. Outland Sr., of Isle of Wight County, Va. Mr. Outland’s parents met as school teachers on the Eastern Shore in the early 1910s, Grover Sr. in Greenbackville (Accomack County) and Lida a few miles to the northwest in Stockton (Worcester County). They also taught at the old Eastville High School where Grover Sr. served as principal before moving their growing family to Norfolk., Va.
Mr. Outland graduated in 1945 from Maury High School, in Norfolk, where he was president of his class and a member of the varsity football team. Toward the end of World War II, he entered Virginia Military Institute (VMI), which was still accelerating officer training for wartime duty overseas. At VMI, he played football for legendary coach “Pooley” Hubert, the former Alabama quarterback who had led the Crimson Tide to its first-ever national football championship in the 1926 Rose Bowl, “the game that changed the South.”
Mr. Outland graduated from VMI in January 1949 (Class of ‘49B) with a bachelor’s degree in English and a U.S. Army reserve commission. He then entered law school at neighboring Washington and Lee University where he subsequently earned his law degree and passed the Virginia bar. Upon graduation from law school, he was immediately called to active duty as a U.S. Army field artillery lieutenant. The Korean War had broken out while he was in law school. After completing his active duty commitment, Mr. Outland was preparing in 1952 to open his law office in Norfolk just down the hall from his father’s insurance office. Nevertheless, at the request of his senior noncommissioned officers in C Battery, 235th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, Mr. Outland volunteered to deploy to the combat zone in Korea as the executive officer of the battery, which had just received orders to Korea. He always said his NCOs stated faith in his ability to accomplish the mission while minimizing the loss of soldiers’ lives was the highest honor he ever received. The pre-deployment photo of his battery at Ft. Sill was always prominently displayed in Mr. Outland’s home.
For his service in the Korean War, Mr. Outland was awarded the Bronze Star medal, the Korean Defense medal (with two service stars), the United Nations Korean medal, and the Republic of Korea (ROK) Korean War medal. His battery’s missions were conducted in what is now North and South Korea and helped earn its parent unit a U.S. Meritorious Unit Commendation as well as two ROK Presidential Unit Citations. Postwar, Mr. Outland was promoted to captain and continued to serve in the Virginia Army National Guard (29th Infantry Division) until his honorable discharge in 1961.
Shortly after returning home from Korea in 1953, Mr. Outland met the love of his life, Norfolk native Margaret M. “Teancy” Matthews. Following several “campaigns” by Mr. Outland, they were married in October 1956, a happy union that lasted for more than 61 years until Teancy’s sudden, unexpected passing.
In 1953, Mr. Outland also opened his law office on Main Street in Norfolk before later forming a law partnership with George H. Gray under the firm name of Outland and Gray. By 1977, the law firm, then called Outland, Gray, O’Keefe and Hubbard, had expanded the practice to handle a variety of transactional and litigation matters including successful appeals to the Virginia Supreme Court.
After retiring in 2005, Mr. Outland continued pursuing his passions for duck hunting and fishing, mainly on the Shore’s barrier islands and inlets, and was noted for the flounder and duck dinners he prepared. Also of note was tall tales of the “ones that got away,” a reverence for well-trained Labrador retrievers, and an incomparable sense of humor. Mr. Outland served as president of the following organizations: the Norfolk-Portsmouth Chapter of the VMI Alumni Association, the Tidewater Chapter of the Washington and Lee Alumni, the Norfolk YMCA Board of Directors, the Norfolk Council on Alcoholism, the Pyramid Club, and the Folly Creek Corporation. He was also a member of the Norfolk and Chesapeake Rotary Clubs, the Norfolk Wetlands Board, the American Legion Lynch-Anchorage Post 35 (honored 60 years of faithful membership), the Norfolk Yacht & Country Club, the Norfolk German Club, the Tidewater Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and Ducks Unlimited. Mr. Outland was also an active member of the Church of the Good Shepherd, having served as a lay reader, choir member, vestryman and senior warden.
Mr. Outland had a special love for the Virginia Military Institute. He was appointed to the VMI Board of Visitors by the governor of Virginia and, also, served on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, culminating in his election as president of the association while his sons were both cadets. In honor of his service to the Institute, Mr. Outland received the VMI Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award, a rare honor that accorded him the privilege of addressing the Corps of Cadets.
Survivors include his sons, Grover C. III, of Annapolis, Md., (Melissa) and James M., of Cape Charles, (Jodi), and daughter, Elizabeth O. Branner, of Lexington, Va. (Wade); eight grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Mr. Outland is also survived by his sister, Nancy O. Chandler, of Norfolk. He was predeceased by his parents, his sisters, Louise O. Smith and Jean O. Chrysler, their husbands, retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. John L. Smith Sr., and Walter P. Chrysler Jr., and the husband of his sister Nancy, Webster M. Chandler Jr., VMI ‘46.
The family wishes to thank the terrific people of Shore Riverside Hospice, Commonwealth Senior Living (formerly, The Hermitage), Cape Charles Rescue, the Town of Cape Charles, and Cindy McKlusky for all their love and support. Memorial donations may be made to the VMI Foundation and the Washington and Lee University School of Law.