Tim Armstead, a West Virginia Supreme Court justice and former Republican House speaker, died at the age of 60, the state’s highest court announced on Tuesday. Armstead passed away after a brief hospitalization, though officials did not disclose details. A veteran lawmaker, Armstead served two decades in the West Virginia House of Delegates, including as speaker from 2015. He was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2018 to replace Justice Menis Ketchum, who had resigned amid a fraud case. Armstead later secured the seat through a special election that year and was re-elected to a full 12-year term in 2020. He also held the role of rotating chief justice in 2020 and again in 2024. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey paid tribute, calling him “a good and decent man who always tried to set the right ethical tone in all of his actions.” Born in Charleston, Armstead studied at the University of Charleston before earning his law degree from West Virginia University. He began his career working for US District Judge David Faber and later served under Governors Arch A. Moore Jr. and Cecil Underwood. It was Underwood who appointed him to a vacant seat in the House of Delegates in 1998, where he went on to win reelection and rise to the post of speaker.
