Photo courtesy of W.Va. Supreme Court W.Va. Supreme Court Justice Tim Armstead

Supreme Court Justice Tim Armstead died Tuesday following a brief hospitalization, The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia announced Tuesday. He was 60.

“Tim Armstead is a sterling example of the best of West Virginia,” said Chief Justice William R. “Bill” Wooton. “In an all-to-short life his public service accomplishments are legendary. He served 20 years in the House of Delegates and was elected by his colleagues to lead that institution as its Speaker. And he served seven years as a Justice of our Supreme Court, including two years as Chief Justice. His abilities, talents and character were recognized by his colleagues, his neighbors, and his fellow West Virginians. Tim was elected to the House of Delegates 10 different times and was twice elected statewide to the Supreme Court of Appeals. Throughout a lengthy period of public service Tim Armstead never lost an election.”

Armstead was appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia by Gov. Jim Justice and took office September 25, 2018. He was elected November 6, 2018, to retain the seat until the end of the term that ended December 31, 2020, and was re-elected on June 9, 2020, to a 12-year term that began January 1, 2021. He served as the Court’s chief justice in 2020 and 2024.

Born Feb. 26, 1965, in Charleston, Justice Armstead was a graduate of Braxton County High School, the University of Charleston and West Virginia University College of Law. He was a Knight of the Golden Horseshoe and a Judith A. Herdon Fellowship intern with the West Virginia Legislature.

In September 1998, Gov. Underwood appointed Armstead to the House of Delegates to fill the seat vacated by the death of Delegate Dick Henderson. Armstead was then elected to the seat that November. In 2006, he became Minority Leader of the Republican caucus of the House of Delegates – succeeding former delegate and current Justice Charles S.Trump IV in that role – and in 2015 became Speaker of the House, a position he held until he resigned to seek a seat on the Supreme Court.

Armstead is survived by his wife, Anna, their daughter, Katie and her husband Aaron Ferrari, a grandson and granddaughter.