By Leonard E. Colvin Chief Reporter New Journal and Guide Attorney William T. Mason, Jr., 96, the offspring of one of the most distinguished Norfolk families, died February 1 after a lifetime of professional and civic service to his community.Mason was part of a remarkable generation of leaders which included Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Father Joseph Green, Evelyn T. Butts, Dr. Hugo Owens, Mayor James Holley, G.W.C. Brown, and others.These lawyers, clergy, activists, WWII and Korean era Veterans, and educators dedicated their skills during their careers to the ongoing Movement to enable African-Americans to overcome the barriers to equality.In an extensive oral history interview with NSU Historian and author Dr. Cassandra Newby Alexander, in March of 2008, Mason talked about his early life living in the Brambleton section of Norfolk, near Boulevard Terrace, the most elite neighborhood in the city during the 30s and 40s.Many of the old homes built by Attorney Eugene Diggs and others still stand along Virginia Beach Boulevard, which was once known as Calvert Street.He recalled playing with the children of the Black elite class who were physicians and lawyers who would become his lifelong friends.Mr. Mason was the only child born to William T. Mason, Sr., and Vivian Carter Mason.Mason, Sr. was an enterprising immigrant from Trinidad, a prominent real estate broker, insurance man, Administrator of the former Norfolk Community Hospital, and co-owner of Seaview Beach.His mother Vivian Carter Mason was born In Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania and was a noted Social Worker in New York City. In Norfolk, she was a civic leader who worked to improve housing and education in segregated Norfolk.She was the first African-American woman appointed to the Norfolk School Board and worked to establish a school for the Norfolk 17 when Norfolk closed six all-white schools to keep out the 17 Black students in the fall of 1958.The school was at First Baptist Church Bute Street. The public schools were reopened, and the Norfolk 17 made history on February 2, 1959.When not living In Norfolk, Mason said he spent a lot of time in New York with his mother’s family. His father remained in Norfolk running the family’s various business interests.Mason known affectionately as “Sonny” by friends and colleagues often said his parents did not want him to attend segregated schools in Norfolk. His mother took him at an early age to Auburn, New York where he spent his early childhood.He graduated from A. B. Davis High School in Mt. Vernon, New York.He spent his first year of college at his father’s Alma Mater, Virginia Union University.The United States entered World War II in December 1941. Mason said between 1943 and 1944, the school’s enrollment dropped when the draft caught up with the eligible men.He was not drafted because of his sight. Virginia Union, Mason said, did not have a business major so he opted to transfer.One of his high school teachers recommended he enroll at predominately white Colby College in Waterville, Maine from which he received his u