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2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 376
Celebrating the life of Erin Peterson.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 15, 2008
 Agreed to by the Senate, February 21, 2008

 

WHEREAS, Erin Peterson, aged 18, a promising and gifted young woman who was pursuing her education and her dreams at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, died tragically on April 16, 2007, on the university campus in Blacksburg; and

WHEREAS, a native of Centreville, Erin Peterson was a graduate of Westfield High School, where she was an honor student and captain of the women’s basketball team, and the vibrant and loving daughter of Grafton and Celeste Peterson; and

WHEREAS, a talented 6-foot-1 center, Erin Peterson was a valuable asset to the Westfield High School women’s basketball team in their district championship win; and

WHEREAS, a freshman at Virginia Tech, Erin Peterson was a bright and studious international relations major, with a minor in French, and was seriously contemplating earning a master’s degree in order to serve her country as a diplomat; and

WHEREAS, a tenacious and committed competitor on the court, Erin Peterson loved basketball and played on the Amateur Athletic Union basketball team at Virginia Tech; and

WHEREAS, Erin Peterson’s hero was “Big Nanny,” her late maternal great-grandmother, whose death made her realize how “life is too short” and inspired her to “live with strength”; and

WHEREAS, Erin Peterson was “a gentle girl involved in music and childcare” at Centreville’s Mount Pleasant Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, Erin Peterson will be fondly remembered for her innate ability to “live vivaciously and encourage others to do the same,” and will be greatly missed by her family, numerous friends and admirers, and her fellow students and professors at Virginia Tech; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of the Commonwealth will remember Erin Peterson and the 31 other victims who died at the Virginia Tech campus on April 16, 2007, and in all of their memories "We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness. . . .We will prevail,"—N. Giovanni; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly note with great sadness the loss of a promising and gifted young woman and outstanding Virginian, Erin Peterson; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Erin Peterson as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.