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2022 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 373
Celebrating the life of Hattie Ann Thomas Lucas.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 8, 2022
Agreed to by the Senate, March 9, 2022

 

WHEREAS, Hattie Ann Thomas Lucas, an esteemed educator and beloved member of the Newport News community, died on August 23, 2021; and

WHEREAS, affectionately known by family and friends as “Cousin Hattie,” Hattie Thomas Lucas was born and raised in Newport News, graduating as valedictorian of the Collis P. Huntington High School Class of 1942; and

WHEREAS, Hattie Thomas Lucas accepted a four-year scholarship to attend the Hampton Institute, now Hampton University, where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in home economics at the age of 19; later, she earned a master’s degree in fiber science and apparel design from Cornell University; and

WHEREAS, Hattie Thomas Lucas returned to Huntington High School in 1946 and embarked upon an accomplished career as an educator; over her four decades with the school, she would serve in various leadership positions while helping countless young people fulfill their potential and succeed; and

WHEREAS, to commemorate the history of Huntington High School, the first high school for African American students in Newport News, Hattie Thomas Lucas authored Huntington High School, Symbol of Community Hope and Unity, a pictorial history of the school published in 1999; and

WHEREAS, Hattie Thomas Lucas was an active and engaged member of her community who supported innumerable charities and organizations in her lifetime, earning a plethora of recognitions, certificates, and awards for her efforts; and

WHEREAS, guided throughout her life by her faith, Hattie Thomas Lucas enjoyed worship and fellowship with her community at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Newport News for many years, serving with the church’s vestry, altar guild, church bazaar committee, and lay ministry and in various other leadership capacities; and

WHEREAS, preceded in death by her loving husband of more than 59 years, Andrew, and two daughters, Hattie Thomas Lucas will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her special cousin, Sabrina Hardy-Newby, and her family and by 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 Hattie Ann Thomas Lucas, a revered educator whose kindness and generosity touched countless lives; 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 Hattie Ann Thomas Lucas as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.