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2014 SESSION

14101782D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 63
Offered January 8, 2014
Prefiled January 6, 2014
Celebrating the life of Harriett Pittard Beales.
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Patron-- Wright
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WHEREAS, Harriett Pittard Beales, a lifelong resident of Mecklenburg County, who taught many county students over the years and was a leader in her church and community, died on August 28, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Harriett Beales was born in Clarksville, attended public schools there, and graduated from The College of William and Mary in 1934; upon graduation, Harriett Beales returned home and taught school, first in elementary grades, then became an English and home economics teacher at Clarksville High School and at Boydton High School; and

WHEREAS, Harriett Pittard married Walter R. Beales, Jr., in 1941, a union that lasted more than half a century until her husband died in 1992; they lived in Boydton and raised two sons, who also have dedicated their lives to the service of others; and

WHEREAS, a woman of strong faith and a talented musician, Harriett Beales was the organist at Boydton United Methodist Church and a Sunday school teacher, and served on the church’s administrative board; and

WHEREAS, Harriett Beales was a mentor and surrogate mother for many promising or disadvantaged young people in her rural county; her sons endowed a scholarship in her honor at The College of William and Mary at her 50th reunion; it is awarded annually to an outstanding student from Southside Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Harriett Beales and other local preservationists helped to protect and maintain Prestwould Plantation, an outstanding example of Colonial architecture on the banks of the Roanoke River; and

WHEREAS, on June 1, 2013, Harriett Beales celebrated her 100th birthday with her children and grandchildren, her 97-year-old sister, and her sister’s children; Governor Robert F. McDonnell wrote a letter of congratulations, as did the president of The College of William and Mary, and she also heard from many other people from around the country; and

WHEREAS, Harriett Beales, who was predeceased by her husband, Walter, will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her sons, Walter III and Randolph, and their families, and many 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 beloved member of the community, Harriett Pittard Beales, whose work benefitted Mecklenburg County in countless ways; 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 Harriett Pittard Beales as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.