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2012 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 83
Celebrating the life of Willie Alice Crowell Ferguson.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, January 19, 2012
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 27, 2012
 

WHEREAS, Willie Alice Crowell Ferguson, a longtime educator with the Norfolk Public Schools system who took an active role in community and civic affairs, died on March 12, 2011; and

WHEREAS, a native of Norfolk, Alice Crowell received a bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University and a master’s degree from New York University, furthering her education throughout her career with classes at different institutions; and

WHEREAS, while in New York, Alice Crowell met a handsome young sailor, William, whom she married on March 5, 1947; the young couple then relocated to Norfolk to build their lives together; and

WHEREAS, Alice Ferguson began her exemplary career in education at Booker T. Washington High School, where she instructed young adults as to the importance of physical fitness, emphasized good nutrition and healthy practices for optimal living, and taught safe driving practices; and

WHEREAS, for over four decades, Alice Ferguson taught in the Norfolk Public Schools system, ending her outstanding career at Granby High School as one of the Commonwealth’s first female chairs of a Department of Health, Physical Education, and Driver Education; and

WHEREAS, an active member of the community, Alice Ferguson served on the boards of the Southside Boys and Girls Club, the Norfolk branch of the American Association of University Women, Women’s Studies at Old Dominion University, and the Kempsville Kiwanis Club; and

WHEREAS, known for her enthusiastic and effective contributions, Alice Ferguson was a member of numerous other organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Urban League of Hampton Roads, and the National Council of Negro Women; and

WHEREAS, a woman of deep faith, Alice Ferguson enjoyed worship, fellowship, and service at First Calvary Baptist Church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher, Bible School teacher, and founder and chair of the Early Morning Breakfast Committee; and

WHEREAS, throughout her life, Alice Ferguson took a special interest in helping youth, serving as a role model and mentor in all of her many worthy endeavors; her legacy lives on in the lives of those she touched; and

WHEREAS, Alice Ferguson possessed a remarkably generous heart and will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her husband of over 60 years, William; numerous other family members; and a host of friends and admirers; 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 Norfolk and the Commonwealth, Willie Alice Crowell Ferguson; and, be it

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