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1996 SESSION

965982252
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 304
Offered February 1, 1996
On the death of Donald J. Gonzales.
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Patrons-- Grayson, Almand, Armstrong, Barlow, Behm, Brickley, Christian, Clement, Connally, Cooper, Councill, Cranwell, Crittenden, Croshaw, Cunningham, Darner, Davies, Diamonstein, Drake, Fisher, Hall, Hamilton, Hull, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, D.C., Keating, McEachin, Moss, Murphy, Phillips, Plum, Puller, Reynolds, Scott, Shuler, Stump, Tata, Tate, Van Landingham, Wardrup, Watts, Wilkins and Woodrum; Senator: Norment
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Consent to introduce
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WHEREAS, Donald J. Gonzales, a former White House, State Department, and United Nations correspondent and senior vice president of Colonial Williamsburg, died on January 24, 1996; and

WHEREAS, a native of Elmwood, Nebraska, Donald Gonzales was a graduate of the University of Nebraska and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 1949-1950; and

WHEREAS, a United Press International correspondent, Donald Gonzales began his career in Washington just before the outbreak of World War II, in which he served for four years as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps; and

WHEREAS, Donald Gonzales resumed his career after the war, covering the Navy Department, the State Department, and the White House during the Eisenhower administration for United Press International; and

WHEREAS, attracted to Colonial Williamsburg in the late 1950s by president Carlisle Humelsine, Donald Gonzales became director of public affairs, was promoted to vice president in 1960, and appointed senior vice president in 1978; and

WHEREAS, during his 25 years at Colonial Williamsburg, Donald Gonzales directed planning for the visits of innumerable prominent Americans and visiting foreign heads of state; and

WHEREAS, Donald Gonzales also supervised community, media, and public relations for Colonial Williamsburg and was instrumental in establishing Colonial Williamsburg's financial development plan; and

WHEREAS, a man known for his grace under pressure and gentle wit, Donald Gonzales served Colonial Williamsburg with great devotion and distinction and, with his wife Mary, was given the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award from the College of William and Mary for "improving the quality of life in the community in which they live"; and

WHEREAS, Donald Gonzales was a founding member of the Public Relations Society of America's Old Dominion Chapter, which honored him in 1980 with its Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Relations; and

WHEREAS, a charter member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame, Donald Gonzales was also a member of the Virginia Cultural Development Study Commission, the Virginia Commission of the Arts and Humanities, and the Citizen's Committee for the Virginia Executive Mansion; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly note with great sadness the passing of a singularly effective friend of Colonial Williamsburg, Donald J. Gonzales; 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 Donald J. Gonzales as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his life of service to his community, the Commonwealth, and the nation.