Roger W. Tompkins II

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Roger W. Tompkins II
17th Attorney General of West Virginia
In office
September 15, 1989 – 1991
Preceded byCharles Gailey Brown III
Succeeded byMario Palumbo
Personal details
Born(1936-11-14)November 14, 1936
Cedar Grove
Died(1997-11-11)November 11, 1997
PartyDemocratic

Roger W. Tompkins II (November 14, 1936 – November 11, 1997) was an American lawyer and politician. He served in the West Virginia House of Delegates and as the 17th attorney general of West Virginia from 1989 to 1991.[1]

Personal Life and Education

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Tompkins was born on November 14, 1936 in Cedar Grove, West Virginia. He was the cousin of author Mary Lee Settle and the great-grandson of William Tompkins, Jr.[2] He was the last member of the Tompkins family to live in The William Tompkins House.[3]

Tompkins attended West Virginia University, where he served as student body president from 1956 - 1957 and graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in 1958.[4] Tompkins was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford in 1958, where he received a second bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1961, and a Master of Arts in economics in 1967 from The Queen's College.[5] He went on to receive his LLB from Yale Law School in 1964 and practiced law as an attorney in Charleston, West Virginia.[6]

Tompkins married Patricia (Patty) Vandergrift Tompkins on 8 January 1983 at Cedar Grove.[7]

Political Career

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Tompkins served in the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing Kanawha County from 1975 to 1982.[8] From 1979 - 1982, Tompkins was the Democratic House Majority Leader.[9]

Tompkins was appointed West Virginia attorney general on September 15, 1989 by Governor Gaston Caperton to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Charlie Brown on August 21, 1989.[10] Tompkins declined to seek reelection in the 1990 West Virginia Attorney General special election.

Death

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Tompkins died from complications from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 60 in 1997.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "West Virginia Former Attorneys General - NAAG". National Association of Attorneys General. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  2. ^ Tompkins, Patty (2006). ""She's High-Strung, You Know"". Appalachian Heritage. 34 (1): 26–27. ISSN 2692-9287.
  3. ^ Ted McGee and James E. Harding (27 January 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Cedar Grove" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Student Government Association | Past SGA Presidents". sga.wvu.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  5. ^ "Rhodes Scholar Database". Rhodes Trust. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  6. ^ Tompkins, Roger (1974-12-01). "The Uniform Securities Act--A Step Forward in State Regulation". West Virginia Law Review. 77 (1). ISSN 0043-3268.
  7. ^ a b Wells, Sandy (5 June 1999). "Historic mansion was saved during Civil War; sisters want to save it again - An AP West Virginia Member Exchange". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  8. ^ West Virginia 83rd Legislature Senate and House Rosters. "West Virginia Blue Book 2017-2018" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "CHARLESTON, W.Va., -- West Virginia's voters faced one of... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  10. ^ "STATE'S ATTORNEY, IN A DEAL, RESIGNS (Published 1989)". 1989-08-23. Archived from the original on 2024-06-06. Retrieved 2025-12-06.