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2007 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 423
Celebrating the life of James R. Olin.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, February 1, 2007
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 9, 2007
 

WHEREAS, dedicated public servant and former United States Congressman James R. Olin died on July 29, 2006, at the age of 86; and

WHEREAS, James R. “Jim” Olin represented Virginia’s 6th District, which includes Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, in the House of Representatives from 1983 to 1993; and

WHEREAS, Jim Olin attended Deep Springs College in California for three years before transferring to Cornell University, graduating in 1943, and served his country in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II; and

WHEREAS, Jim Olin moved to Roanoke in 1968, and he and his wife Phyllis moved to Charlottesville in 2003 to live closer to their family; and

WHEREAS, a hardworking and able corporate leader, Jim Olin completed a distinguished 35-year career with General Electric as vice president and general manager of the company’s industrial electronics division, working in New York, Pennsylvania, and finally in Virginia's Salem plant; and

WHEREAS, after his retirement, Jim Olin sought public office and was successful in winning five terms in the 6th District, which at the time stretched from Roanoke to Lynchburg and north to Harrisonburg, because of his business background and his strong commitment to constituent service; and

WHEREAS, Jim Olin worked tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of the Commonwealth and was especially proud of his co-sponsorship of legislation that created 10 new wilderness areas, which included land in the 6th District of Virginia; he also supported a flood control project for Buena Vista and a new bridge for Lynchburg; and

WHEREAS, a diligent and often outspoken lawmaker, Jim Olin served on the Agriculture Committee, helped form national dairy policy, and pushed for reducing milk price subsidies; and

WHEREAS, Jim Olin will be greatly missed by his loving wife, five children, and their families, including 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandson; his friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle in Congress; and the citizens of the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly mourn the loss of an esteemed lawmaker, James R. Olin; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of James R. Olin as an expression of the General Assembly’s great respect for his memory.