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1995 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 520
On the death of Samuel W. Swanson.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 27, 1995
Agreed to by the Senate, February 2, 1995

WHEREAS, Samuel W. Swanson, a former member of the House of Delegates and one of the leading public figures in Pittsylvania County for more than four decades, died on November 24, 1994; and

WHEREAS, born in Glen Alum, West Virginia, Samuel Swanson graduated from Callands High School, attended Emory and Henry College, and earned a common law degree from Cumberland University in Tennessee in 1938; and

WHEREAS, a political unknown, Samuel Swanson supported the popular election of school boards and won election to the House of Delegates in 1943, where he served until 1952; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure in the House of Delegates, Samuel Swanson saw the passage of an elected school board bill, which was later defeated in the Senate; and

WHEREAS, in Pittsylvania County, Samuel Swanson was elected Commissioner of the Revenue in 1951, won re-election in 1955, and then ran successfully for Clerk of Court in 1959; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Swanson twice won re-election as Clerk of Court, ultimately serving the citizens of Pittsylvania for 24 years, during which time he presided over many changes and improvements to the clerk's office, including renovating the office, upgrading of the record-keeping system, and instituting daily audits; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Swanson served as president of both the Virginia Commissioners of Revenue Association and the Virginia Clerks of Courts Association and was active in the Swansonville community, bringing the first Boy Scout troop to Swansonville and founding Little League baseball in the county; and

WHEREAS, an exceptionally influential and dedicated public servant for over 40 years, Samuel Swanson is fondly remembered by the citizens of Pittsylvania for his wit, his kindness, his compassion, and his unwavering affection for the people he so faithfully served; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly note with sadness the passing of a devoted public servant and a fine Virginian, Samuel W. Swanson; 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 Samuel W. Swanson as an expression of the great respect in which his memory is held by the members of the General Assembly and the citizens of Virginia.