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2021 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 534
Celebrating the life of Lilla Dunovant McCutchen Richards.
 
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 18, 2021
Agreed to by the Senate, January 21, 2021
 

WHEREAS, Lilla Dunovant McCutchen Richards, a former Dranesville District Supervisor and beloved member of the McLean community, died on September 22, 2020; and

WHEREAS, raised in Arlington County, Lilla Richards earned degrees in education and economics from the University of South Carolina before embarking on a career with the Economic Research Service at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); and

WHEREAS, as an editor and writer, Lilla Richards helped launch the Farm Index, a monthly periodical published by the USDA to showcase studies conducted by the Economic Research Service and examine trends in agriculture and the food economy; and

WHEREAS, Lilla Richards served as Dranesville District Supervisor on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors from 1987 to 1991, establishing herself as a powerful advocate for strategic land use management, the arts, and many other causes; and

WHEREAS, a founding member of Friends of Pleasant Grove Church, Lilla Richards was instrumental in saving a historic church that has provided spiritual refuge to the McLean community since 1896; and

WHEREAS, a longtime resident of McLean, Lilla Richards gave generously of her time and talents to local civic and service organizations for more than three decades, serving as president of both the McLean Citizens Association and the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations; and

WHEREAS, with great vision and sense of purpose, Lilla Richards was instrumental to the founding of several local civic organizations and initiatives, including the McLean Community Foundation, the McLean Community Center, and the McLean Citizens Foundation; and

WHEREAS, following an appointment by Governor L. Douglas Wilder, Lilla Richards served six years on the board of directors of George Mason University, prioritizing the development of academic programs and leaving a lasting and positive imprint on the university; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of her years of activism and service on behalf of her community, the Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce presented its Mary Kingman Pillar of McLean Award to Lilla Richards in 2016; and

WHEREAS, preceded in death by her former husband, Stanley, Lilla Richards will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her cousins, Jane, George, Elizabeth, David, Mary, and Tom, and numerous 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 Lilla Dunovant McCutchen Richards, an esteemed public servant and community advocate of McLean who had a profound and lasting impact on countless lives; 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 Lilla Dunovant McCutchen Richards as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.