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2020 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 104
Celebrating the life of the Honorable Thomas J. Michie.

 

Agreed to by the Senate, February 20, 2020
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 24, 2020

 

WHEREAS, the Honorable Thomas J. Michie, an esteemed attorney, admired community leader, and former member of both the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia who served the Commonwealth for two decades, died on August 27, 2019; and

WHEREAS, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Thomas “Tom” Michie moved to Norfolk with his family in 1942 and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in 1949; he continued his education at Trinity College in Connecticut and the University of Virginia School of Law; and

WHEREAS, Tom Michie served his country as an active duty member of the United States Navy for three years and retired as a commander in the United States Navy Reserve after 20 years of service; and

WHEREAS, Tom Michie pursued a career as an attorney with his father’s law firm and ultimately retired as a senior partner of MichieHamlett; he specialized in wills, trusts, and estate law and was a respected member of the legal community, becoming a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; and

WHEREAS, in 1965, Tom Michie was appointed to the Charlottesville School Board, where he led efforts to voluntarily integrate the city’s public schools; he also oversaw the construction of new schools, helped established a kindergarten program, and enhanced the quality of education for all students; and

WHEREAS, desirous to be of further service to the Commonwealth, Tom Michie ran for and was elected to the House of Delegates in a special election in 1970, becoming known as “Landslide Michie” for his one-vote margin of victory; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure as a state lawmaker, Tom Michie introduced and supported many important pieces of legislation to benefit all Virginians, including the creation of a highly effective mechanism for reporting child abuse; and

WHEREAS, Tom Michie was one of only 10 delegates to oppose a measure that allowed localities to circumvent integration efforts through busing and was a consistent advocate for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment; among his many other achievements, he carried a set of bills that reduced annexation lawsuits and improved cooperation between Virginia’s cities and counties; and

WHEREAS, in 1980, Tom Michie was elected to the Senate of Virginia, where he helped pass measures related to child support enforcement, all-terrain vehicle safety, and assisted conception; he played a vital role in the passage of the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act, which created indoor smoking-free zones and was the first such measure to pass in a major tobacco-producing state; and

WHEREAS, Tom Michie also offered his time and expertise to the Jefferson Area Board for Aging, the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, the Charlottesville Housing Foundation, Planned Parenthood, and Camp Holiday Trails; he enjoyed fellowship and worship with the Charlottesville community at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by his first wife, Molly, and his second wife, Janet, Tom Michie will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his sons, Thomas VI, John, Edmund, and George, and their families; his stepchildren, Julie, Paul, Elizabeth, and Allison, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues on both sides of the aisle; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of the Honorable Thomas J. Michie, a consummate statesman who strengthened the Charlottesville community and the Commonwealth through his visionary leadership; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of the Honorable Thomas J. Michie as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.