Changes

|preceded2=A. Linwood Holton, Jr.

|preceded2=A. Linwood Holton, Jr.

|succeeded2=[[John N. Dalton]] (lieutenant governor in Godwin's second term)

|succeeded2=[[John N. Dalton]] (lieutenant governor in Godwin's second term)

|office3=Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 28th

|office3=28th [[Lieutenant Governor]] of Virginia

|governor3=Albertis Harrison

|governor3=Albertis Harrison

|term_start3=January 13, 1962

|term_start3=January 13, 1962

|term_end3=January 15, 1966

|term_end3=January 15, 1966

|preceded3=Allie Edward Stakes Stephens

|preceded3=Allie Edward Stakes Stephens

|succeeded 3=Fred G. Pollard

|succeeded3=Fred G. Pollard

|office4=Virginia State Senator for the 5th district

|office4=Virginia State Senator for the 5th district

|term_star4=December 2, 1952

|term_start4=December 2, 1952

|term_end4=January 10, 1962

|term_end4=January 10, 1962

|prceded4=Allie E. S. Stephens

|prceded4=Allie E. S. Stephens

|religion=[[Christian]]

|religion=[[Christian]]

|spouse=Katherine Thomas Beale Godwin<br>

|spouse=Katherine Thomas Beale Godwin<br>

(married 1940-1999, his death)

(married 1940–1999, his death)

|children=Rebecca Katherine "Becky" Godwin (1954-1968)<br>

|children=Rebecca Katherine "Becky" Godwin (1954–1968)<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

Mills, Sr., and  Otelia Margaret Darden Godwin

Mills, Sr., and  Otelia Margaret Darden Godwin

==Background==

==Background==

Godwin was born in the unusually named town of Chuckatuck in Nansemond County, now a neighborhood of Suffolk, Virginia, the son of Mills Godwin, Sr. (1882-1946), and the former Otelia Margaret Darden (1884-1945)..<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QthMAAAAMAAJ&q=Mills+Edwin+Godwin+1914|title=Godwin|author=Jamie Ault Grady|date=1981}}</ref> He was educated at [[Old Dominion University]] in [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] and the [[University of Virginia]] Law School in Charlottesville, from which he received a Bachelor of Laws degree.<ref>Mills E. Godwin, Jr. (nndb.com), accessed October 12, 2021.</ref>

Godwin was born in the unusually named town of Chuckatuck in Nansemond County, now a neighborhood of Suffolk, Virginia, the son of Mills Godwin, Sr. (1882–1946), and the former Otelia Margaret Darden (1884–1945).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QthMAAAAMAAJ&q=Mills+Edwin+Godwin+1914|title=Godwin|author=Jamie Ault Grady|date=1981}}</ref> He was educated at [[Old Dominion University]] in [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] and the [[University of Virginia]] Law School in Charlottesville, from which he received a Bachelor of Laws degree.<ref>Mills E. Godwin, Jr. (nndb.com), accessed October 12, 2021.</ref>

Early in his career, Godwin was a special agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]].<ref name=findagrave>Mills Edwin Godwin Jr. (1914-1999) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed October 12, 2021.</ref>

Early in his career, Godwin was a special agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]].<ref name=findagrave>Mills Edwin Godwin Jr. (1914-1999) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed October 12, 2021.</ref>

His personal and gubernatorial papers are located in the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720120808/http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/index.php?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=6793|title=Mills E. Godwin, Jr., Papers|publisher=Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary|accessdate=February 1, 2011}}</ref>

His personal and gubernatorial papers are located in the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720120808/http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/index.php?p=collections%2Fcontrolcard&id=6793|title=Mills E. Godwin, Jr., Papers|publisher=Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary|accessdate=February 1, 2011}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

==Personal life==

In 1940, Godwin married the former Katherine Thomas Beale (1917-2015) of Holland in Nansemond County. The couple adopted a child, Rebecca Katherine "Becky" Godwin, who was killed by a streak of lightning at the age of fourteen in August 1968 while vacationing with her mother at Virginia Beach.<ref>Rebecca Katherine “Becky” Godwin (1953-1968) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed October 12, 2021.</ref> Governor Godwin at the time was attending the Democratic National Convention in [[Chicago]], which nominated [[Hubert Humphrey]] to challenge Richard Nixon and [[George Wallace]].<ref>Phyllis Speidel, '''I'm so tickled I'm here,' says 91-year-old former first lady of Virginia," ''The Virginian Pilot,'' January 26, 2008.</ref>

In 1940, Godwin married the former Katherine Thomas Beale (1917–2015) of Holland in Nansemond County. The couple adopted a child, Rebecca Katherine "Becky" Godwin, who was killed by a streak of lightning at the age of fourteen in August 1968 while vacationing with her mother at Virginia Beach.<ref>Rebecca Katherine “Becky” Godwin (1953-1968) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed October 12, 2021.</ref> Governor Godwin at the time was attending the Democratic National Convention in [[Chicago]], which nominated [[Hubert Humphrey]] to challenge Richard Nixon and [[George Wallace]].<ref>Phyllis Speidel, '''I'm so tickled I'm here,' says 91-year-old former first lady of Virginia," ''The Virginian Pilot,'' January 26, 2008.</ref>

The family resided in Godwin's hometown of Chuckatuck, now part of Suffolk, Virginia. Godwin died at the age of  [[pneumonia]] at the age of eighty-four. He and his wife and daughter are interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suffolk.

The family resided in Godwin's hometown of Chuckatuck, now part of Suffolk, Virginia. Godwin died at the age of  [[pneumonia]] at the age of eighty-four. He and his wife and daughter are interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suffolk.