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2018 SESSION

18106750D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 303
Offered February 20, 2018
Celebrating the life of Frances Elizabeth Gibson Loose.
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Patrons-- Toscano, Bell, Robert B., Fariss and Landes; Senators: Deeds and Reeves
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WHEREAS, Frances Elizabeth Gibson Loose, a devoted mother and respected businesswoman who owned Tuel Jewelers in Charlottesville for over 40 years, died on January 5, 2018; and

WHEREAS, born in Ivy, Frances Loose attended Meriwether Lewis High School, where she played basketball and pitched for the softball team; she then studied bookkeeping at Jefferson Business School and later earned certificates from the Jewelers of America and the Gemological Institute of America; and

WHEREAS, Frances Loose began her career running the candy counter of a McCrory’s five-and-dime store before working in sales and fashion merchandising for Diana Shops; and

WHEREAS, in 1953, Frances Loose was hired as the bookkeeper at Tuel Jewelers, a jewelry sales and repair business in Charlottesville; she later purchased the store in 1975 and became one of the first female business owners in the city’s downtown; and

WHEREAS, Frances Loose spent the rest of her life operating Tuel Jewelers, eventually working alongside her two daughters as well as her grandsons; she became a beloved figure on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, where many customers and fellow business owners called her “Mom”; and

WHEREAS, along with running her successful jewelry business, Frances Loose was a proud Charlottesville resident who was active in numerous organizations and events, including Beta Sigma Phi, Credit Women International, the Charlottesville Dogwood Festival, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville, and the American Legion Auxiliary; and

WHEREAS, in 2009, Frances Loose received the Small Business Person of the Year award from the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, a woman of strong faith, Frances Loose served as an altar guild directress at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Ivy and later as an altar guild, St. Margaret’s Guild, and National Episcopal Church Women member and Sunday school teacher at Grace Episcopal Church in Keswick; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by her husband of 56 years, Hermann, Frances Loose will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her daughters, Mary and Frieda, and their families, as well as numerous other family members, friends, and Charlottesville residents; 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 Frances Elizabeth Gibson Loose, a business leader and active member of the Charlottesville community; 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 Frances Elizabeth Gibson Loose as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.