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2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 457
Celebrating the life of Eunique Whitaker.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 29, 2008
Agreed to by the Senate, March 6, 2008

 

WHEREAS, Eunique Whitaker of Newport News, a veteran of the Newport News Police Department, died January 30, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Eunique Whitaker grew up in Winton, North Carolina, where he graduated from C. S. Brown High School; he earned an associate’s degree in business management from Payne Business College in Raleigh, North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, Eunique Whitaker came to Virginia to pursue further studies in the area of police science at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton and at The College of William and Mary, after which he served in the United States Navy during World War II; and

WHEREAS, in 1949 Eunique Whitaker joined the Newport News Police Department, becoming the fifth African American to join the force; he eventually became the first African-American uniformed field sergeant in Virginia and was part of a team that broke racial barriers in the department; and

WHEREAS, trusted and respected as a police officer by both his fellow officers and by the citizens he served, Eunique Whitaker retired from the Newport News Police Department in 1979 after 30 years of exemplary service; and

WHEREAS, an avid fisherman, gardener, hunter and photographer, Eunique Whitaker was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and was active in a retired policemen’s association and a local Masonic lodge; he was a faithful member of Macedonia Baptist Church, where he served on the deacon board and was an enthusiastic supporter of the church’s many programs and activities; and

WHEREAS, a friendly and outgoing person who was always concerned for his fellow man, Eunique Whitaker will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his beloved wife of 54 years, Thelma; his daughter, Lisa; his brother, George, and his wife; his granddaughter, Danielle; many nieces and nephews; and a host of other family members and dear friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Eunique Whitaker, a pioneering law-enforcement professional and a fine Virginian; 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 Eunique Whitaker as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.