Photo by Chiles T.A. Larson '53

Harvey Chappell and Fred Frechette at the Botetourt statue in the College Yard.

Robert Harvey Chappell Jr. '48, B.C.L. '50 is the exact opposite of pretentious.

His near-incredible list of achievements speaks for itself, because he won't. In the 62 years I've known him I cannot recall a single instance in which he sought publicity or recognition for the honors accorded him in a lifetime of service and generosity to his alma mater, to his profession and to society.

By any measure except purely physical dimensions, Harvey Chappell is a giant. He didn't begin his William and Mary career as such, for he was probably the smallest recruit who ever played varsity football for the College. When this 17-year-old from Clarksville, Va., reported to a war-depleted team in the fall of 1943, he was about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and may have weighed as much as 145 pounds -- in full uniform, that is, with pads and helmet.

He wasn't only a little guy on the football team, he was arguably the smallest male member of his freshman class. One would have thought he'd be lost among all the bigger young men, like a marble among billiard balls, but Harvey Chappell was more like a bowling ball.

When I returned to campus as a sophomore in late January 1944, after a short spell in the Navy during World War II, I expected to be able to assume some of the prerogatives of a second-year student -- that is, exercise a degree of dominance over lowly freshmen. I did not, however, reckon with that sawed-off kid from Clarksville.

HARVEY CHAPPEL'S RECORD OF LEADERSHIP

President, W&M Law School Association President, Richmond Alumni Chapter President, Society of the Alumni President, Richmond Bar Association President, Virginia Chapter, Sons of the Revolution Rector, Board of Visitors President, Board of Trustees, Richmond Children's Hospital President, Virginia State Bar Association President, American College of Trial Lawyers Chairman, Committee on Federal Judiciary of the American Bar Association Board of Regents, American College of Trial Lawyers Board of Visitors, Virginia State University Board of Directors, Richmond Eye Hospital Trustee, Westminster-Canterbury Foundation Phi Beta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa Order of the Coif Alumni Medallion (1968) Honorary LL.D. (1984)

Harvey had his own ideas about who was in charge and he made them stick. He was too small to be physically dominant, but his classmates -- and what seemed like every other undergraduate -- looked to him for campus leadership. Harvey didn't ask them to do so. They just naturally followed wherever he led.

In the spring of 1944, with about 1,000 students on campus, we all got to know one another. Thus I had many contacts with Harvey, but we did not immediately become close friends. However, I began to learn something about Harvey, to respect his intelligence and his great sense of humor. Above all, I learned never to argue with him. He was so articulate and quick on his feet that in any kind of debate he easily turned me into a blithering idiot.

A few years later, having gone into business in Richmond and in need of legal help, I asked Harvey to represent me. The first time I entered his Main Street office to discuss business, Harvey pulled a watch from his vest pocket and placed it on the desk between us. This was no ordinary timepiece. It was smaller than a wind-up alarm clock, but not by much, and resembled the kind of watch railroad conductors used to carry. Harvey never explained why he did this, but I assume it was his way to remind clients that time is money. And in recent years, I'd guess that the value of his time could only be measured with a computer.

Railroad watch notwithstanding, Harvey did an outstanding job of easing me out of a sticky business situation, not only profitably, but without creating rancor on either side of the dispute. Not long after that, when I set up my own firm, I asked Harvey to chart my legal obligations. This he did in such intelligent fashion and with such solid advice that, a few years later, when the City of Richmond attempted to convict me of a tax violation -- erroneously -- Harvey beat City Hall, which doesn't happen very often. It saved me a significant amount of money.

Occasionally, if I crossed Huguenot Bridge to the south side of the James River on a weekend or after office hours, I'd swing by the Chappell home, which was nearby on a hill overlooking the James. As often as not, except during inclement weather, I'd find Harvey in his large, partly wooded lot performing heavy manual work, for he wasn't averse to working up an honest sweat.

Something Harvey enjoyed with his wife, Ann, particularly during pleasant evenings, was a cruise on the James River. However, his conception of a James River cruise was somewhat removed from popular notions of what constitutes a cruise. Nothing fancy for him. He was supremely happy in a 12-foot johnboat named Miss Ann. There were at least three of them, all with the same name. This wasn't confusing because they were not in a fleet, they were consecutive. Some teenagers shot one to pieces, and I believe Harvey's son, Robert, appropriated another. But there was always one Miss Ann chained to a tree at river's edge below the Chappell residence.

Harvey usually took the real Miss Ann along, because she came with a picnic meal. Once away from shore, he invariably dropped a baited hook into the James to determine whether or not there were any finny creatures swimming about. The Chappells enjoyed their river in joyful solitude right in the midst of Richmond's large metropolitan population, which was perfectly suited to their lifestyle.

Because of Harvey's wide-ranging contributions, activities and official duties, the Chappells knew -- and were known by -- virtually all the political and social leaders in Richmond and, to a great extent, Virginia. They were involved in all kinds of social affairs and were affable and friendly with literally hundreds of people. With it all, however, they were private people.

There's no telling the extent of Harvey's generosity to William and Mary because that is no one's business but his. However, I think it's safe to say that recipients who have benefited from his gifts through the years include, among others, the law school, library, athletics, alumni leadership and Phi Beta Kappa.

The notion that there's a place in our lives for idealism is built into Harvey Chappell's scheme of things. It was his theme when he spoke at the 1979 Marshall-Wythe School of Law commencement. But among many thoughts he conveyed to a new crop of attorneys was one that, at least to me, seemed strange coming from him. He said, "As lawyers we should never expect to be loved. The nature of our work is such that in most instances we have to take a position, and, in taking a position, it will be displeasing to some person or persons."

But as one of his oldest and closest friends puts it, "Harvey's an outspoken guy. If he doesn't agree with you, he'll say so. I'm the same way. But there's a huge difference. When I disagree with someone, they hate me for it. When Harvey disagrees with someone, they love him. How come?"

The answer lies in Harvey Chappell's character. Certainly, he's outspoken and doesn't merely not suffer fools gladly, he doesn't suffer them at all. But he's also brilliant, articulate and courageous, a man with unshakeable integrity and principles of honor -- and limitless loyalty to his friends, profession and alma mater.