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2013 SESSION

13100779D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 661
Offered January 9, 2013
Prefiled January 8, 2013
Celebrating the life of John Wesley Pearsall.
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Patron-- Carr
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WHEREAS, John Wesley Pearsall, a distinguished attorney and admired civic leader from Richmond, died on October 26, 2012; and

WHEREAS, a brilliant student, John Pearsall graduated from John Marshall High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Randolph-Macon College; he then attended the Medical College of Virginia and earned a law degree from the University of Richmond; and

WHEREAS, as the United States entered World War II, John Pearsall joined the countless other young men of his generation, proudly serving his country in the United States Navy as a meteorologist in the South Pacific; and

WHEREAS, after the war, John Pearsall returned to Richmond and served as a partner with McGuire, Eggleston, Bocock and Woods and as general counsel for Virginia-Carolina Chemical Corporation; and

WHEREAS, John Pearsall then established Simpkins, McCaul and Pearsall, later McCaul, Grigsby, Pearsall, Manning and Davis, and continued to faithfully serve his clients in practice with his son as Pearsall and Pearsall until his retirement in 2004; and

WHEREAS, as a director of Estes Express Lines for 40 years, John Pearsall provided wise guidance and insight throughout his decades of service to the company; and

WHEREAS, John Pearsall took an active role in community affairs as the state chair of the Virginia Jaycees, earning the Young Man of the Year award; campaign chair of the regional chapter of the American Red Cross and member of its national board; and president and chair of the United Givers Fund; and

WHEREAS, John Pearsall also served on the Chesterfield County Welfare Board, as a trustee of Sheltering Arms Hospital, as director of the local chapter of Junior Achievement, and as a vestryman at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church; and

WHEREAS, John Pearsall took a keen interest in efforts to preserve Richmond’s historic buildings and scenic areas, serving on the boards of the Historic Richmond Foundation and Chesterfield Historical Society and on the Falls of the James State Scenic River Advisory Committee; and

WHEREAS, John Pearsall devoted many hours to the restoration of two homes in Richmond’s historic Church Hill neighborhood and donated “Pearsall Meadows” to the James River Park System; and

WHEREAS, for nearly 80 years, John Pearsall was a faithful alumnus of Randolph-Macon College, serving on the board of trustees, as a Society of Alumni board member, and as a Class Agent; and

WHEREAS, in 2006 John Pearsall was appointed trustee emeritus of Randolph-Macon College and in 2012 received the Society of Alumni’s Distinguished Service Award for his extraordinary service and commitment; and

WHEREAS, a man of great integrity, John Pearsall made many contributions to his profession and community over the course of his long and well-lived life; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by his wife of nearly 75 years, Laila, John Pearsall will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his children, Jack and Frank, and their families, and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of a distinguished attorney and admired community advocate, John Wesley Pearsall; 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 John Wesley Pearsall as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.