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2021 SPECIAL SESSION I


HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 552
Celebrating the life of the Reverend Dr. James Alfred Carey.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 25, 2021

 

WHEREAS, the Reverend Dr. James Alfred Carey, a respected educator and spiritual leader in Southampton County, died on January 24, 2021; and

WHEREAS, James Alfred Carey grew up in Greenville County and graduated from Edward W. Wyatt High School; he continued his education with a bachelor’s degree from Saint Paul’s College and a master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University; and

WHEREAS, James Alfred Carey worked in Southampton Public Schools until he was drafted by the United States Army; he served with distinction until his honorable discharge in 1969, then briefly returned to teaching; and

WHEREAS, James Alfred Carey subsequently joined the Virginia Department of Corrections and served as a vocational learning coordinator after the establishment of the Rehabilitative School Authority, which later was reorganized within the Department of Correctional Education; and

WHEREAS, as an assistant principal and principal for the Department of Correctional Education, James Alfred Carey worked diligently to reduce recidivism by helping inmates throughout Southampton County gain valuable job skills and training; and

WHEREAS, James Alfred Carey’s final assignment for the Department of Correctional Education was at the Southampton Intensive Treatment Center, and after the facility’s closure, he worked as a teacher for Weldon City Schools in North Carolina and as an instructor for a Jackson Feild Homes location in Jarratt; and

WHEREAS, James Alfred Carey served the community as a member of the Emporia City Council, representing the residents of District 1 for 10 years, and he supported his wife, Carolyn, during her successful campaign for election as mayor of Emporia in 2020; and

WHEREAS, after earning a doctorate of systematic theology, James Alfred Carey answered the call to ministry at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Drewryville and served as pastor of Mount Ararat Baptist Church and Saint Matthew Baptist Church, both in North Carolina; and

WHEREAS, in 1980, James Alfred Carey became pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church Emporia, where he had begun to cultivate his deep faith in his youth, and he provided exceptional spiritual leadership to the congregation for more than 40 years; and

WHEREAS, among many awards and accolades, James Alfred Carey was twice selected as the Rehabilitative School Authority’s Administrator of the Year, and he received the Outstanding Community Service Award from the Emporia City Council in 1998; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by his daughter, Madalyn, James Alfred Carey will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife of 54 years, Carolyn; his sons, James and Marcus, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby note with great sadness the loss of the Reverend Dr. James Alfred Carey; 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. James Alfred Carey as an expression of the House of Delegates’ respect for his memory.