Former Alexandria Delegate Richard R.G. Hobson dies

Former Alexandria Delegate Richard R.G. Hobson passed away at his home on Sunday, May 23.

Hobson’s family announced his death on social media on Monday. He was 89 years old.

Mayor Justin Wilson thanked Hobson’s family and wished them condolences.

“Dick Hobson set the gold-standard for service to our community,” Wilson said. “Over decades of service to our City, he never lost his commitment to our community and our people. He was so knowledgeable on so many topics. I left every conversation with him learning several new things, and his laughter was infectious. His family and close friends are in my thoughts. Thanks for sharing him with Alexandria.”

A familiar face in Alexandria politics for decades, Hobson retired as Alexandria’s Delegate for the 21st District after two terms in 1979 and spent the next several decades as a land use attorney with McGuire Woods.

“I never intended to make a career out of the House of Delegates,” he told the Washington Post, emphasizing that “I’m not going away” and promised to continue work in local politics “in finding and encouraging persons of integrity and ability to seek and hold public office.”

Born on July 28, 1931, in Orange, New Jersey, Hobson and his family moved to Alexandria in 1936, according to a biography written in Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill’s website. He was in the first graduating class of Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, and then attended George Washington Middle School and Episcopal High School. Hobson graduated from Princeton University and then served for three years as an officer in the U.S. Navy before getting his law degree from Harvard Law School.

In 1959, he met his wife, Kathleen Stanton, and they were married the following year. In 1962, he and his wife moved back to Alexandria. His career credits included stints as chairs of the Virginia Bar Association, the 8th Congressional District Committee and the Alexandria Democratic Committee (ADC).

In 2014, the ADC awarded Hobson with its lifetime achievement award.

ADC Chair Clarence Tong said that Hobson was a very dedicated, well-respected and valued member of the ADC family.

“His service spanned for over five decades, including representing Alexandria as a Member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and serving as a precinct leader and long-time Chair of the Resolutions Committee,” Tong said. “We will greatly miss Dick and offer our condolences to Kay and the entire Hobson family.”

Hobson is survived by his wife, Kay, and his children Rich Hobson, Hartley Hobson Wensing, Lee Hobson and Kathleen Hobson Davis and their children. Details of funeral services have not been released.

Photo via Jack Powers/Facebook