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2015 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 739
Celebrating the life of Thomas F. Bergin.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 6, 2015
Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 2015

 

WHEREAS, Thomas F. Bergin, a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Virginia School of Law who was profoundly respected by students and faculty alike, died on December 19, 2014; and

WHEREAS, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, Thomas Bergin graduated from what is now known as Choate Rosemary Hall; he was a standout baseball player in his youth, helping his team to win first place in the Greater New Haven League two consecutive years; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Bergin joined many of the other young men of his generation in service to his country during World War II; he served with the 69th Composite Wing of the Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater and was a French and Japanese translator in China; and

WHEREAS, after his honorable discharge, Thomas Bergin resumed his education, earning a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a law degree from Yale University; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Bergin practiced law in New York City for nine years before becoming assistant to the president of Sarah Lawrence College and a professor at Yale University; and

WHEREAS, continuing his career in academia, Thomas Bergin joined the University of Virginia School of Law in 1963; during his exceptional 30-year career, he founded the joint degree program in law and economics and taught a graduate program for judges, as well as several other courses; and

WHEREAS, admired for his quick wit and sense of humor, Thomas Bergin was also known as a precise and rigorous scholar who inspired excellence in his students and fellow educators; upon his well-earned retirement in 1992, Virginia Law Weekly and the Virginia Law Review both paid tribute to his accomplishments and leadership in the field; and

WHEREAS, the Thomas F. Bergin Teaching Professorship, a chair that is awarded annually to an outstanding University of Virginia educator, is named in Thomas Bergin’s honor as a lasting tribute to his legacy; and

WHEREAS, Thomas Bergin will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his daughter, Anne, and her family and by numerous other family members, friends, colleagues, and former students; 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 Thomas F. Bergin, a highly admired scholar and dedicated educator; 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 Thomas F. Bergin as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.