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2021 SPECIAL SESSION I

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21103995D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 704 Offered February 2, 2021 Celebrating the life of Ida Johnson Lewis. ---------- Patrons-- Hudson; Senator: Deeds ----------

WHEREAS, Ida Johnson Lewis, Charlottesville’s first African American deputy sheriff and a tireless community advocate, died on April 16, 2020, at the age of 91; and

WHEREAS, Ida Lewis graduated from Jefferson High School and was active in its Alumni Association and in the effort to save the historic school by transforming it into a vibrant community center; and

WHEREAS, after first working in her family’s funeral home business and as a hairdresser, Ida Lewis pursued a career in law enforcement, first as a crossing guard, then as a traffic control officer with the Charlottesville Police Department; and

WHEREAS, in 1980, Ida Lewis became Charlottesville’s first African American sheriff’s deputy and served in that capacity until her retirement in 1993; and

WHEREAS, Ida Lewis was active in the community as a member of the board of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, where she was an advocate for inmates; she served on a police advisory panel, as a poll worker, and as one of Charlottesville’s first Downtown Ambassadors, providing a welcoming smile to all she met; and

WHEREAS, Ida Lewis and her husband of 48 years, the late Willie Lewis, raised two daughters, Cheryl Lewis Sheffey and Margo Lewis Walker, who survive her, along with three grandchildren, a great-grandson, and two siblings; and

WHEREAS, Ida Lewis will be fondly remembered by her family and the many people whose lives were touched by her commitment to service; 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 Ida Johnson Lewis; 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 Ida Johnson Lewis as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.