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2010 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 267
Celebrating the life of Betty Cross Pretlow.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 19, 2010
Agreed to by the Senate, February 25, 2010

 

WHEREAS, Betty Cross Pretlow, a beloved mother, wife, and community leader in Suffolk, died on January 19, 2010; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow was born in Suffolk to loving parents Harry Lee Cross and Jennie Lee Williams Cross and was one of five siblings; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow attended Longwood College (now University) and was an exemplary teacher at Chuckatuck Elementary School; and

WHEREAS, a vibrant and gracious young woman, Betty Pretlow was chosen in 1941 by the Suffolk Rotary Club as Suffolk’s first Harvest Queen and was one of few women to wear the iconic “peanut dress,” which was covered with 250,000 unshelled peanuts and weighed about 75 pounds; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow ably represented Suffolk and Virginia in National Peanut Festival activities during her reign; she participated again in the Harvest Festival extravaganza in 1992 as Grand Marshal of the Harvest Festival parade when her granddaughter was named Harvest Queen; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow’s first love was her family; she married the late Joshua Pretlow and together they raised four wonderful children; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow remained actively involved in her alma mater as a member of Longwood’s Societe Jeanne d’Arc; she also served on the Board of Visitors of Longwood College from 1976 to 1984; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow generously gave of her time and talents in the community as the first president of the Girl Scout Council of Greater Tidewater, member of the Suffolk Bicentennial Commission, member of the Riddick’s Folly Board, and past chair of the Suffolk Fine Arts Commission; and

WHEREAS, an avid gardener, Betty Pretlow was a charter member of the Westover Garden Club and organized and sponsored the Laurel Garden Club and Village Garden Club; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow was also a member and past Regent of the Constantia Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution; a member of the Suffolk chapter of the Colonial Dames, XVII Century; a member of the Henry Lee Society; past president and member of the Junto Woman’s Club; and member of the Junto Book Club and Junto Bridge Club; and

WHEREAS, Betty Pretlow will be fondly remembered for her kind and generous nature and will be greatly missed by her children, Joshua, Anne, Thomas, and Jennie, and their families; and her numerous other family members and friends; 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 beloved community volunteer and outstanding Virginian, Betty Cross Pretlow; 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 Betty Cross Pretlow as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.