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2017 SESSION

17100745D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 601
Offered January 11, 2017
Prefiled January 5, 2017
Celebrating the life of Herman J. Obermayer.
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Patrons-- Sullivan; Senator: Favola
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WHEREAS, Herman J. Obermayer of Arlington, a well-known author and journalist who was the longtime owner, editor, and publisher of the Northern Virginia Sun, died on May 11, 2016; and

WHEREAS, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Herman Obermayer joined many of the other young men of his generation in service to his country during World War II as a member of the United States Army; and

WHEREAS, after he returned home, Herman Obermayer graduated from Dartmouth College in 1948 and began his career in journalism as a reporter for the Long Island Daily Press; he gained experience in advertising and sales before purchasing the Long Branch Daily Record in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1957; and

WHEREAS, in 1963, Herman Obermayer purchased the Northern Virginia Sun, an Arlington-based newspaper with a circulation of 20,000 customers; he commuted between Arlington and Long Branch each week until 1971 when he sold the Long Branch Daily Record; and

WHEREAS, having witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust, Herman Obermayer ensured that the Northern Virginia Sun comprehensively covered the Arlington-based American Nazi Party until it was dissolved in 1967; and

WHEREAS, in 1988, Herman Obermayer sold the Northern Virginia Sun and its commercial printing subsidiary, which printed more than 100 foreign language newspapers; he then served the United States Department of State as a consultant to growing newspapers in former Soviet states from 1990 to 2001; and

WHEREAS, after his well-earned retirement, Herman Obermayer authored a World War II memoir and a biography of former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court William H. Rehnquist; he was a member of Washington Golf and Country Club and enjoyed fellowship and worship with the community at Temple Rodef Shalom; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by his wife of 58 years, Betty, Herman Obermayer will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his four daughters, Helen, Adele, Elizabeth, and Roni, and their families, and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; 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 Herman J. Obermayer, a well-known journalist and author in Arlington; 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 Herman J. Obermayer as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.