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2023 SESSION

23105002D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 703
Offered February 15, 2023
Celebrating the life of Bishop Levi Edgar Willis II.
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Patrons-- Williams Graves and Clark; Senators: Lucas and Rouse
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WHEREAS, Bishop Levi Edgar Willis II, a preacher, teacher, apostle, servant of God, and trusted community leader in Norfolk, died on January 13, 2023; and

WHEREAS, Levi Willis grew up in Chesapeake and graduated from Crestwood High School in 1971; he attended Washington Bible College in Lanham, Maryland, Virginia Union University, and Norfolk State University, where he majored in political science; and

WHEREAS, Levi Willis received an honorary doctorate of divinity from Norfolk Theological Seminary and College in Norfolk and an honorary doctorate in humanities from Midwest College and Seminary in Gary, Indiana; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Third Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Church of God in Christ, established in 1967 by the late Bishop L.E. Willis, Sr., has more than 40 churches and missions spread across 14 Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina districts; Levi Willis began his pastoral ministry in the jurisdiction in 1973 and founded the Good News Family Worship Center in 1989; and

WHEREAS, guided by his faith, Levi Willis provided outstanding leadership and enjoyed worship and fellowship with his fellow members of the Virginia Third Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction for 50 years and was named pastor emeritus of the Garden of Prayer Worship Center; and

WHEREAS, through his dedication to ministry and his unwavering faith, Levi Willis inspired generations of congregants and left a legacy of excellence to his fellow religious leaders in Norfolk; and

WHEREAS, Levi Willis will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his loving wife of 49 years, Judith Loretta Washington Willis; his children, Jasper M. Willis and his wife LaTonya, Jonathan G. Willis, Sr., and his wife Felicia, and Tiffani J. Willis; his daughter-in-law, Trelanie R. Johnson-Willis; his eight grandchildren, Jaylen, Jordin, Zoe, Niyah, David, Jonathan II, Jami, and Journi; his three sisters, Hortense Ernestine Willis, Christine L. Willis, and Celestine L. Willis-Brown and her husband Clyde; a host of nephews, nieces, and cousins; 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 Bishop Levi Edgar Willis II; 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 Bishop Levi Edgar Willis II as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.