Tracy Warren Hylton

Tracy attended Mark Twain High School and Concord College. He attended West Virginia University before enlisting in the Army in 1943 where he fought in WWII. Returning home after the war in 1946 he met his soon to be wife Betty Jo Foster.

Tracy began his career in mining with Olgebay Norton Coal and Itmann Coal Company. In 1948 while working for Itmann Coal Company he started his own business. As he was advancing in the coal industry he purchased small dump trucks to do his hauling, giving birth to Perry and Hylton, Inc. This company became one of the largest mine operations in the state. In 1964, Hylton threw his hat in the political ring and became the 9th District Senator for Raleigh and Wyoming Co, where he served for eight years. After leaving office in 1972 he devoted his full energy and resources to the creation of jobs for his fellow West Virginians. In 1986, Tracy looked toward Charleston for legislation which would encourage mining jobs and manufacturing jobs and was elected to his third term as State Senator serving 1987-1990. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin has submitted a statement to the Congressional Record in honor of Tracy’s life and legacy.

Hylton will be remembered as a genius at his trade, a coal miner’s coal miner, a pioneer and innovative leader in the modern mine reclamation environmental movement and a plainspoken man with a generous streak and exceptional organizational skills. He and his family appreciated so much the thousands of employees he had over the years in WV, KY and PA.

“In my opinion, we just lost our last true king” WV Governor Jim Justice. When I was growing up, the real kings were the founders of the Coal Association. Those founders were James Justice Sr., Lawson Hamilton, Buck Harless, and Tracy Hylton. Hylton and his contemporaries grew up in poverty in the coalfields. As the “Big Four” established privately-owned, independent empires, built on coal, along with the late Charles “Jim” Compton of Bridgeport. These men became financial and political stalwarts and philanthropist in southern West Virginia. Tracy Hylton was the last surviving member of the group. All of the men operated independent, privately-owned businesses that they’d started in southern West Virginia. Rather than build wealth and leave, all of them “took their last breath in West Virginia,” the Governor observed.

Hylton was remembered by friends as being a caring employer and well loved by those who worked for him. He was a charitable man who anonymously donated to many charities, churches, educational institutions, hospitals, and scholarship programs. He was also instrumental in the building of the West Virginia University football stadium in Morgantown, WV. Hylton was President and board member of the WV Mining and Reclamation Association and WV Coal Association; director of Gulf National and Raleigh County National Banks; a Master Mason of Mullens Lodge No. 151, and past member of the Shriners, Moose, Elks, American Legion and Presbyterian Church. He was owner and operator of the Ramada Inn/Beckley Hotel on Harper Road. He was inducted into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame in 1998 and was awarded, along with his wife, Betty Jo, the 2000 Spirit of Beckley Award by the YMCA of Southern West Virginia. The late Beckley Mayor Emmett Pugh presented Hylton a Key to the City in 2000.

Tracy and sons founded the Grandview Farm Country Store on Grandview Road in the 1980’s where he stayed active in the it’s operation and other businesses in forestry, real estate, and cattle, until his death.

Mr. Hylton was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Betty Jo Foster Hylton; sister Winnis Hylton Landing and husband Lee Landing; sister-in-law, Connie Foster Chenoweth, and brothers-in-law, J. W. Foster and E.T. Ward.

Survivors include sons, Tracy “Warren” Hylton II and wife, Patty of Ghent; Harry “Mack” Hylton and wife, Teresa of Daniels; and Robert “Bob” Hylton of Beaver; grandchildren, Kirsten, Lance, TraciJo, Morgan, Adam and wife, Kellie, and great-grandsons, David, Alec, and Ethan; brother, Orville Hylton of Stephens City, VA; sisters, Elizabeth Hylton of Washington, D.C.; Pearl Ward of Saratoga, CA and Carol Temple of Decatur, GA. Nieces Vicki Landing Mix of Beaufort, SC; Debra Ward Pursell of San Jose, CA; and Linda Temple Kyles of Atlanta, GA, nephews; David Temple of Jacksonville, FL; Ray Hylton of Stephens City, VA; Mark Hylton of Inwood, WV, Stuart Hylton of Winchester, VA, Michael Kersey of Mannington, WV, Greg Ward of San Jose, CA, Don Ward of Wilson, NC, Paul “Robbie” Goode of Henderson, TN, Paula Goode Fannin of Dacula, GA, Judy Foster Holland, and Greg Foster. He is also survived by Pam Meadows of Daniels and a host of loving family, friends, and co-workers, that will miss him dearly.

A celebration of life will be held in his honor on Friday, June 15, 2018 at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, 200 Armory Drive, Beckley, WV. Friends are welcome to gather from 5-9 PM. Those to honor the memory of Mr. Hylton will include: Bill Raney, Coach Bobby Pruett, Coach Don Nehlen, and WV Governor Jim Justice.

A private burial will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following: Bowers Hospice House, 454 Cranberry Drive Beckley, WV 25801; Woman’s Resource Center- P.O. Box 1476, Beckley, WV 25802-1476; or to Friends of Coal Ladies Auxiliary, P.O. Box 1109, Beckley, WV 25802-1109 Online condolences may be left for the family at www.blueridgefuneralhome.com