Delegate Nancy Guthrie, 30th District

Her husband, George Guthrie, first came on the scene in 1989 but the couple did not marry until ten years later. As Nancy puts it, “Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Courtships”. George and Nancy formed a life-long bond long before they got to the altar on September 4, 1999 with six hundred of their closest friends to witness the marriage in the church George's grandparents helped found.

George is a partner in the law firm of Allen, Guthrie, McHugh & Thomas. He grew up in Charleston just blocks from where he and Nancy now live. His father died when George was in his early teens leaving his mother, Daisy Guthrie to raise him and his sister Ann on a teacher's salary. Daisy had a profound and positive impact on his life and on the lives of everyone she knew. In retirement she still worked hard volunteering at CAMC in the gift shop that now bears her name. George was an athlete in high school and received a football scholarship to Duke University where he completed his undergraduate degree and then his law degree. Together, the Guthrie family includes two Bernese Mountain dogs – Teddi and Louie and their Chow, Simba.

George's grandfather and father were in the hardware and dry goods business. There are countless tales of George's grandfather making rounds throughout the County to deliver goods in his horse and buggy while buying and trading for goods out West.

The Guthrie family hails from Scotland where there is a town and castle of the same name. The family motto: “Sto pro veritate” means, “I stand for truth”. The Guthrie clan fought with William Wallace and pledged their undying loyalty to the freedom of Scotland, best captured in this oath:

For so long as a hundred of us remain alive, we never will in any
degree be subject to the dominion of the English, since it is not
for glory, riches or honours we fight, but for liberty alone which
no good man loses but with his life. - Declaration of Abroath - 1320

In their first years of marriage, Nancy & George suffered a series of life-changing tragedies with the deaths of Nancy 's two sisters and brother. Suddenly life took on a new meaning and a new importance. Nancy became determined to do one more ‘big thing' in her life.

That ‘big thing' turned out to be a run for public office. As a first time candidate she was successful and beat the odds. Nancy knows that nothing in West Virginia ever happens in a vacuum. It took over 17,000 people in Kanawha County to lend their approval and give her the nod and the chance to speak on their behalf in the West Virginia Legislature. It's an honor she respects and will conduct with consistency and clarity.

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."

- George Washington