Over the years, McEachin was a known environmentalist, civil rights advocate and public servant.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) released a statement saying: “Up until the very end, Don was a fighter. Even though he battled cancer and faced other trials in recent years, he never lost his focus on social and environmental justice. Tonight, Virginia has lost a great leader and I have lost a great friend.”
Born on Oct. 10, 1961, in Nuremberg, Germany, Aston Donald McEachin was the son of a U.S. Army veteran and a schoolteacher.
McEachin graduated from St. Christopher’s School in Richmond in 1979, later earning a bachelor’s degree at American University in 1982, followed by a law degree at the University of Virginia (U.Va.) in 1986.
McEachin and his wife, Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin, raised three children, Mac, Briana and Alexandra.
Photos of McEachin through the years
State Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico listens to debate on the floor of the Senate at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. A House committee took up a Senate measure to prohibit state government from discriminating against employees because of their sexual orientation. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)Virginia Commonwealth University head basketball coach Shaka Smart, top left, VCU president Michael Rao, top second from left, State Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond, third from left, VCU guard Bradford Burgess, third from right, guard Brandon Rozzell, second from right, VCU athletic director, Norwood T. Teague, right, listen to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, front left, on the floor of the Senate as they are honored at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, April. 6, 2011. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)New State Sen. Charles Carrico, R-Grayson, left, shares a laugh with Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond, right during the start of the 2012 session of the Virginia Senate at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) Virginia State Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, speaks during a news conference in front of his offices in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. McEachin filed a lawsuit against the Attorney Generals office over a FOIA request for information concerning its dealings with Star Scientific. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)Virginia State Sen. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, speaks during a news conference in front of his offices in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. McEachin filed a lawsuit against the Attorney Generals office over a FOIA request for information concerning its dealings with Star Scientific. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. administers the House oath of office to Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., during a mock swearing-in ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, as the 115th Congress began. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Virginia Congressman Donald McEachin, D-4th, greets supporters at a Democratic victory party in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019. All seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate are up for election. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, second from right, is joined on stage by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, second from left, and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., third from left, and Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., right, during a campaign rally Sunday, March 1, 2020, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)McEachin with students at a Virginia school’s library.McEachin presenting a check to Virginia Commonwealth University for $996,000 for the Gun Violence Prevention Framework in 2022. (Photo: 8News)
Donald McEachin Speaking at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (Photo: 8News)
