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2019 SESSION

19100251D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 271
Offered January 9, 2019
Prefiled December 27, 2018
Celebrating the life of John Melburn Toups.
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Patrons-- Saslaw and Deeds
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WHEREAS, John Melburn Toups, a respected leader in the civil engineering field and a champion for higher education and health care in Northern Virginia, died on June 14, 2018; and

WHEREAS, a native of Wichita Falls, Texas, John Toups left his studies at Stanford University to join many of the other young men of his generation in service to the nation during World War II as a member of the United States Army, earning a Silver Star Medal for his gallantry in action; and

WHEREAS, after his honorable military service, John Toups attended Compton Junior College and the University of California, Los Angeles, before earning a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley; and

WHEREAS, over the course of his long and successful career as a civil engineer, John Toups served as the city engineer for Seal Beach, California, and opened his own firm, Toups Engineering, in Orange County, California; and

WHEREAS, Toups Engineering was acquired by Planning Research Corporation in 1970 and subsequently relocated to Northern Virginia; when John Toups retired as president, chair, and chief executive officer of the company in 1987, it had become the third-largest employer in the region; and

WHEREAS, a passionate lifelong learner, John Toups believed wholeheartedly in the power of a good education and helped dozens of young adults both inside and outside of his family attend college; and

WHEREAS, as chair of the George Mason University Foundation, John Toups helped George Mason University (GMU) grow to become one of the largest public universities in the Commonwealth; in addition, he established the John Toups Presidential Medal for Excellence in Teaching at the Volgenau School of Engineering and provided support for a teaching lab at the school’s Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering; and

WHEREAS, John Toups further enhanced the quality of life in Northern Virginia through his work as chair of the Inova Health System Board of Directors and chair of the Inova Health Foundation, overseeing the growth of Inova Hospitals from a two-hospital system to a world-class, multihospital health care organization; and

WHEREAS, John Toups also offered his wisdom and visionary leadership to a host of other public and private firms in Northern Virginia, and he enjoyed fellowship and worship with the community as a longtime member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church; and

WHEREAS, throughout his life, John Toups earned many awards and accolades for his personal and professional achievements, including the 2013 Washingtonian of the Year award from Washingtonian magazine, the Robert Kruger Award from the Professional Services Council, the James M. Reese Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, the Legend of Northern Virginia Award from Northern Virginia Family Services, and the prestigious George Mason Medal from GMU; and

WHEREAS, John Toups will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Nina; his children, Paul, Dana, Ellen, and Charles, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of John Melburn Toups, an accomplished businessman who made many contributions to higher education and health care in Northern Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of John Melburn Toups as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.