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2009 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 398
Celebrating the life of Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, January 29, 2009
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 6, 2009
 

WHEREAS, Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr., of Mason Neck in Fairfax County, a beloved citizen of the Commonwealth and a respected member of the Senate of Virginia for 28 years, died on July 18, 2008; and

WHEREAS, Joseph “Joe” V. Gartlan, Jr., was born on Long Island, New York, and immediately after graduating from high school served his country in the United States Navy during World War II; and

WHEREAS, after the war, Joe Gartlan earned a bachelor’s degree in 1949 and a law degree in 1952 from Georgetown University and worked as an attorney in Washington, D.C., in the K Street firm of Melrod, Redman and Gartlan; and

WHEREAS, desiring to make a difference in Virginia, Joe Gartlan was first elected to the Senate in 1972, representing the residents of the Lee, Mount Vernon, and Springfield districts in southeastern Fairfax County; and

WHEREAS, an able and knowledgeable lawmaker, Senator Gartlan was widely known for his support of a multitude of social issues, including preventing the abuse and neglect of children and assisting citizens with mental and physical disabilities and lower income families; and

WHEREAS, long before it was politically popular, Senator Gartlan was a champion of the Chesapeake Bay, and he was instrumental in the passage of Virginia’s first wetlands protection legislation in the 1970s; and

WHEREAS, in 1978, Senator Gartlan cochaired the bi-state Chesapeake Bay Legislative Advisory Commission, together with his Maryland counterpart, and to further efforts by all of the neighboring states to restore the ailing Chesapeake Bay, he introduced legislation creating the Chesapeake Bay Commission in 1980; and

WHEREAS, Senator Gartlan was elected as the first chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, served again as chair in 1983 and 1985, and remained one of the body’s most dedicated and hardworking members for 19 years; and

WHEREAS, Senator Gartlan was elected by his fellow citizens to seven terms in the Senate, where he chaired the Senate Committees on Rehabilitation and Social Services, Privileges and Elections, and Courts of Justice, served as cochair of the Northern Virginia delegation, and rose to second in seniority among his peers; and

WHEREAS, before retiring from the General Assembly in 2000, Senator Gartlan also served as the chair of the Virginia Code Commission; and

WHEREAS, Joe Gartlan was a faithful member of Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Mount Vernon and active in the church’s many missions in the community; and

WHEREAS, throughout his distinguished career, Joe Gartlan received awards and accolades from numerous civic and professional organizations for his selflessness, generosity, and outstanding public service; and

WHEREAS, Senator Gartlan will be fondly remembered for his perfect timing when telling a joke and his gift of oratory and storytelling, but the legacy he leaves all Virginians is his tremendous sense of purpose in helping citizens in need to obtain a better life and his sense of urgency in protecting the Commonwealth’s vast resources and natural beauty; and

WHEREAS, Joe Gartlan will be greatly missed by his devoted wife of 58 years, Fredona Manderfield Gartlan; his six wonderful children and seven beloved grandchildren; his friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle; and the citizens of Virginia; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly note with great sadness the loss of one of the Commonwealth’s most dynamic and admired statesman, Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr.; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.