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2022 SESSION

22103874D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 163
Offered January 26, 2022
Celebrating the life of April Pulley Sayre.
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Patron-- Willett
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WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre, acclaimed children’s book author and photo-illustrator, known for her many books spotlighting the wonders of science and nature, died on November 6, 2021, of metastatic breast cancer; and

WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre was born on April 11, 1966, in Greenville, South Carolina, to David and Elizabeth Pulley; as a child, she developed an appreciation for nature through spending time in her mother’s garden and grandparents’ nearby farm; and

WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre graduated salutatorian of her high school in just three years, and later studied primatology and anthropology at Duke University, earning her bachelor’s degree in biology in 1987; and

WHEREAS, after graduating from Duke University, April Pulley Sayre moved to Washington, D.C., to complete internships at the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and the National Geographic Society, eventually accepting a full-time position at the NWF producing educational materials for teachers; and

WHEREAS, while living in Washington, D.C., April Pulley Sayre met her husband, Jeffrey Sayre, an author, naturalist, and conservationist who was employed at the NWF, and the couple married in 1989; and

WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre began her career as an author in 1994 and would go on to create many school and library publications; her first trade picture book, If You Should Hear a Honey Guide, was published in 1995 and won the John Burroughs Award for excellence in the genre of natural history books for young readers, among other accolades; and

WHEREAS, after her initial success as an author, April Pulley Sayre attended Vermont College to hone her craft and earned a master’s degree in fine arts in creative writing in 2000; and

WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre could make even the less exciting parts of nature interesting and her title Vulture View received a 2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor; and

WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre visited with more than 17,000 students across the country each year, working to spread her love of nature and science to young learners; and

WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre created over 80 books for young readers throughout her life and was praised for her rhythm, clever wordplay, and infectious love of nature; and

WHEREAS, April Pulley Sayre will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her loving husband of 32 years, Jeffrey Sayre; her sisters, Lydia Pulley and Cathy Ballard; and many more 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 April Pulley Sayre; 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 April Pulley Sayre as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.