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2008 SESSION

084756288
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 84
Offered January 9, 2008
Prefiled January 9, 2008
Celebrating the life of Emily Weese Purdy.
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Patron-- Obenshain
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WHEREAS, Emily Weese Purdy of Rockingham County, a beloved citizen and longtime community supporter, died on September 25, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Emily Purdy earned a bachelor’s degree in home economics and religious education at Ohio Wesleyan University in 1961; and

WHEREAS, Emily Purdy worked diligently over her 20-year career as a recognized leader in community health and human services for the United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as well as the Valley’s first director of the Community Foundation of Harrisonburg-Rockingham; and

WHEREAS, a multitalented and creative woman, Emily Purdy taught in inner-city and rural schools, photographed food for a national nonprofit organization, and worked in retail sales and marketing; and

WHEREAS, Emily Purdy began a writing career as a freelance writer for the Daily News-Record and a regional magazine, as well as authored three books, Musings Out Loud, Comfort for the Comforter: Caring for Parents, and Surf Songs; she also spoke to groups on the topic “Leave a Legacy: Write Your Memoirs”; and

WHEREAS, always willing to help her fellow citizens in need, Emily Purdy was a compassionate volunteer for short-term mission trips to the Philippines, England, and Mauritius, and her most recent mission work was at home serving as the administrator/secretary of The Valley Responds, a community effort to help restore Long Beach, Mississippi, that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005; and

WHEREAS, Emily Purdy received numerous awards for her community service over the years, including being named 1990 Working Woman of the Year by the community, and in 2001, honored as Sandra Neff Fundraiser of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals; and

WHEREAS, devoted to her church family, Emily Purdy was a faithful member of the Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene and was active in the church’s many missions in the community; and

WHEREAS, in 1979, Emily Purdy and her husband David made their home in rural Rockingham County in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, and for five years they spent winter months in Southern California to be near family; the couple traveled nationally and internationally for business and pleasure and enjoyed hiking in the eastern mountains and the deserts of the southwest; and

WHEREAS, Emily Purdy was first and foremost an exceptional wife, mother, and grandmother to her loved ones, and she will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her husband of 46 years, David M. Purdy; her daughter Renee and granddaughter Abigail; her son Michael, his wife Tina, and granddaughter Bella; her brother William Weese and his family; and many other family members and friends in Rockingham County; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly mourn the passing of a dedicated community supporter and talented Virginian, Emily Weese Purdy; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Emily Weese Purdy as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.