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2012 SESSION

12104779D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 168
Offered February 10, 2012
Celebrating the life of Waverly Manson Cole, M.D.
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Patron-- McEachin
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WHEREAS, Waverly Manson Cole, M.D., a highly respected anesthesiologist, generous benefactor to several of the Commonwealth’s institutions of higher education, and noted philanthropist, died on August 28, 2009; and

WHEREAS, a native of Blackstone, Waverly Cole earned a bachelor’s degree from The College of William and Mary and a medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia before opening a family practice in Farmville; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cole proudly served his country in the United States Army Medical Corps for two years in Heidelberg, Germany, where he also studied at the University of Heidelberg; and

WHEREAS, after his distinguished military service, Dr. Cole returned to the Medical College of Virginia, completing a residency in anesthesiology and serving as a clinical professor; and

WHEREAS, when St. Mary’s Hospital was created in 1966, Dr. Cole was recruited to establish the hospital’s anesthesiology department; he created department protocols and built a firm foundation upon which the department could continue to grow; and

WHEREAS, an admired physician, Dr. Cole retired from the Richmond Eye and Ear Hospital after a career spanning four decades that was focused on outstanding patient care; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cole made many contributions to his profession and earned the respect of his fellow physicians; he provided strong leadership as president of both the Richmond and Virginia Societies of Anesthesiologists; and

WHEREAS, a remarkably thoughtful and generous man, Dr. Cole’s life was marked by service to others; he was known for treating patients unable to pay and looking for ways that he could be of assistance to others; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cole enjoyed a longtime relationship with Longwood University, the alma mater of his beloved mother, Sallie Sterling Manson Cole; in 2004, he donated his extensive collection of nineteenth-century Bohemian glass, Meissen porcelain, and English pottery to the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts and endowed a permanent full-time collections manager position there; and

WHEREAS, committed to helping young people advance their educations, Dr. Cole, along with his partner, Dr. John Cook, endowed a total of 30 scholarships at The College of William and Mary, Virginia Commonwealth University, the Medical College of Virginia, and Longwood University; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cole and Dr. Cook were honored for their extraordinary generosity and longtime support of Longwood University when the College of Arts and Sciences was renamed the Cook-Cole College of Arts and Sciences; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cole also generously supported the Southside SPCA in Meherrin, where a building is named for his beloved Jack Russell terrier, April; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Cole was honored as an OUTstanding Virginian by Equality Virginia, cofounded the first AIDS Fund to care for Virginians infected with HIV, and was a charter member and supporter of Equality Virginia, Lambda Legal, Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, ROSMY, and Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund; and

WHEREAS, an extraordinary man, Dr. Cole leaves behind a sterling legacy of service that others may strive to emulate; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of an admired citizen of the Commonwealth, doctor and philanthropist, Waverly Manson Cole, M.D.; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. John Randall Cook and the other members of the Cole family as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for the memory of Waverly Manson Cole, M.D.