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2018 SESSION

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 412 Celebrating the life of Thelma Kouzes.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 2, 2018 Agreed to by the Senate, March 6, 2018

 

WHEREAS, Thelma Kouzes, a devoted wife and mother and a respected Fairfax resident who hosted 174 international students in her home between 1960 and 2004, died on August 23, 2017, at the age of 100; and

WHEREAS, the daughter of Danish immigrants, Thelma Kouzes was born in 1917 in Audubon, Iowa; in 1938, she relocated to Washington, D.C., where she worked in the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; and

WHEREAS, a staunch supporter of the civil rights movement, Thelma Kouzes advocated for the desegregation of schools in Northern Virginia and marched in the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; and

WHEREAS, in 1960, Thelma Kouzes began volunteering as a host with the American Field Service (AFS), an international youth exchange organization; she eventually worked with the group for over 40 years and opened her home to 174 international students from 34 different countries; and

WHEREAS, Thelma Kouzes forged close relationships with her international students and continued to keep in touch with many of them until her death; in addition to her hosting duties, she also helped place an additional 400 international students with American families; and

WHEREAS, Thelma Kouzes was active in a number of organizations and charities, including the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Association, the Virginia Extension Homemakers Association, and the American Cancer Society; and

WHEREAS, in 1988, Thelma Kouzes’s dedication to helping others saw her honored as the 53rd National Mother of the Year by the organization American Mothers; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by her husband, Thomas, Thelma Kouzes will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her sons, Jim and Dick, and their families, and countless 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 Thelma Kouzes, a beloved Fairfax resident who opened her home to students from around the globe; 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 Thelma Kouzes as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.