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2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 473
Celebrating the life of Mary Karen Read.

 

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

 

WHEREAS, Mary Karen Read, age 19, 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, Mary Read was born in South Korea to an Air Force family, and after living in Texas, California, and a time in Tennessee with her cherished mother Yon Son Zhang, she settled in Annandale in Northern Virginia to live with her father, Peter Read, and her stepmother, Cmdr. Cathy Read; and

WHEREAS, in 2006 Mary Read graduated from Annandale High School in Fairfax, where she was a member of the lacrosse team, played clarinet in the concert band, was a section leader and president of the marching band, participated in the winter color guard, and was voted by her peers to be on the school’s homecoming court; and

WHEREAS, in high school, Mary Read was a bright and diligent student who was enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program and was a member of the National Honor Society, the French Honor Society, and the Tri-M Band Honor Society; and

WHEREAS, a freshman at Virginia Tech, Mary Read was committed to her classes, adjusting to college life, and making new friends; she was “spreading her wings” academically in interdisciplinary studies until she could decide on a major, but she genuinely loved and cared for children and was seriously considering education, because she felt she could be a very good teacher; and

WHEREAS, Mary Read was a member of Virginia Tech’s Campus Crusade for Christ, and she had recently applied to be a Bible study leader, a role she would have relished and that would have provided her much comfort; and

WHEREAS, Mary Read was a devoted older sister and mentor to her beloved younger brother Stephen, age 11, and her four half-siblings Patrick, Brendan, Colleen, and Hannah, ages 10 months to 11 years; she deeply cared for so much in life, including her music; her education; getaways to the mountains, the beach, or the lake; and most of all spending time with her family; and

WHEREAS, a spiritual and considerate young woman who was full of faith and love, Mary Read possessed a sunny disposition and a winning smile that warmed the heart; her friends and schoolmates felt she was the best friend anyone possibly could have; and

WHEREAS, sometimes quiet and reflective but most often exuberant, Mary Read will be remembered as a warm and lovely young woman “who seemed to burst with life,” and she 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 Mary Read 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 talented young woman and outstanding Virginian, Mary Karen Read; 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 Mary Karen Read as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.