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2021 SPECIAL SESSION I


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 733
Celebrating the life of the Reverend Dr. Willie Woodson.
 
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 4, 2021
Agreed to by the Senate, February 11, 2021
 

WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. Willie Woodson, a spiritual leader and community activist who touched countless lives throughout the Richmond region, died on December 4, 2020; and

WHEREAS, a native of Richmond, Willie Woodson graduated from Armstrong High School and served his country as a member of the United States Air Force; he returned to Richmond in 1971 to care for his siblings after their mother’s death and worked at the nearby Defense General Supply Center; and

WHEREAS, Willie Woodson continued his education with a bachelor’s degree and a master of divinity degree from Virginia Union University, as well as a master’s degree from what is now Union Presbyterian Seminary and a doctorate from Union Theological Seminary; and

WHEREAS, Willie Woodson answered the call to ministry at First United Presbyterian Church and led the congregation for 27 years, increasing community engagement, establishing a summer camp, and building additional support for church youth groups; and

WHEREAS, Willie Woodson subsequently became the pastor of Trinity Ghanaian Presbyterian Church; he was an active leader in the Presbytery of the James, including as moderator of the organization’s Black Caucus; and

WHEREAS, Willie Woodson was a prolific author and a passionate educator who served as an adjunct instructor for a University of Lynchburg satellite program in Petersburg; he volunteered to mentor students at Henderson Middle School and offered his expertise to the Richmond Public Schools strategic planning group; and

WHEREAS, for more than a decade, Willie Woodson celebrated the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the civil rights movement as the executive director of the annual Living the Dream program; and

WHEREAS, Willie Woodson further strengthened the Richmond community as executive director of the nonprofit organization Citizens Against Crime and as a member of the Richmond Commission of Architectural Review, Boaz & Ruth, the Richmond Crusade for Voters, and the local NAACP; and

WHEREAS, Willie Woodson will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his daughter, Beverly, and her family; his sisters, Jane and Felicia, 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 the Reverend Dr. Willie Woodson, a faith and community leader in Richmond; 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 the Reverend Dr. Willie Woodson as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.