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2022 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 200
Celebrating the life of Mary Sherwood Holt.
 
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 14, 2022
Agreed to by the Senate, February 17, 2022
 

WHEREAS, Mary Sherwood Holt, an esteemed public servant and active and beloved member of the Newport News community, died on September 27, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Mary Holt had a passion for learning, attending Mount Holyoke College in her youth and continuing her education later into her life with the Lifelong Learning Society at Christopher Newport University; and

WHEREAS, Mary Holt was a proud, self-proclaimed feminist and a trailblazer who made a name for herself in the Newport News community by being a woman in leadership at a time when there were few, paving the way for others who would follow; and

WHEREAS, Mary Holt was elected to the Newport News City Council in 1972 and served three terms, becoming only the second woman to sit on the board in its history, while she was notably the first woman to chair the Newport News Democratic City Committee; and

WHEREAS, Mary Holt served on more than 20 local boards over her lifetime, including as chairperson of the Centennial Commission and the Peninsula Planning District Commission and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Peninsula Economic Development Council; and

WHEREAS, deeply committed to the health and well-being of young people, Mary Holt helped to create the Newport News Youth Services Commission and was a member and president of Alternatives, a substance abuse treatment and prevention program; and

WHEREAS, Mary Holt was a passionate and effective advocate for the arts who served on many local boards and advisory councils that supported arts organizations and was a co-founder of the Virginia Living Museum, serving on the organization’s board of advisors for many years and as its president in 1970; and

WHEREAS, Mary Holt gave generously of her time as a volunteer all her life; she joined her local chapter of the Junior League in high school and served the organization in various capacities, including as chairperson of several committees and as president in 1964; and

WHEREAS, Mary Holt loved to travel the world, visiting many countries including Thailand, Singapore, Russia, Greece, France, China, Italy, Colombia, and many more, and was an avid and accomplished gardener; and

WHEREAS, guided throughout her life by her faith, Mary Holt enjoyed worship and fellowship with her communities at First Presbyterian Church in Newport News and later at Hidenwood Presbyterian Church in Newport News; and

WHEREAS, preceded in death by her loving husband of nearly 60 years, Quincy, Mary Holt will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her children, Elizabeth, Maria, Frankie, Saxon, and Michael, and their families and by 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 Mary Sherwood Holt, a pioneering leader of the Newport News community whose ebullient spirit and dedication to serving others were an inspiration to all who knew her; 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 Mary Sherwood Holt as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.