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2023 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 361
Celebrating the life of Martin Deane Cheatham IV.

 

Agreed to by the Senate, February 21, 2023
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 22, 2023

 

WHEREAS, Martin Deane Cheatham IV, an accomplished athlete and coach on the high school and collegiate levels and a beloved member of the Hanover County community, died on January 7, 2023; and

WHEREAS, Deane Cheatham attended the Collegiate School in Richmond and later graduated from Hanover High School in 2011, where he was a standout on the football team as both a running back and punt returner and where he also excelled at lacrosse; and

WHEREAS, Deane Cheatham was notably a member of the Hanover High School football team that won the Capital District and Central Region titles for the first time in program history, and he twice received first team all-metro honors in football from the Richmond Times-Dispatch; and

WHEREAS, Deane Cheatham continued his football career at James Madison University (JMU), where he was a starting tight end and team captain, leading his team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament twice; and

WHEREAS, after graduating from JMU in 2015, Deane Cheatham leveraged his tenacious spirit and passion for football into a coaching career, helping the JMU Duke Dogs win the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national championship in 2017; and

WHEREAS, Deane Cheatham subsequently worked as an assistant coach at Marshall University, Western Carolina University, and Austin Peay State University, contributing greatly to the success and well-being of countless student-athletes; and

WHEREAS, Deane Cheatham returned home to Hanover County in 2020, where he found true happiness working and living near his many friends and family; and

WHEREAS, Deane Cheatham will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his parents, Deane III and Cynthia; his grandparents, Peter and Virginia Clay; his siblings, Caroline and Clayton; his loving partner, Emily Porter; and numerous other family members and friends; 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 Martin Deane Cheatham IV, a treasured member of the Hanover County community whose good nature and positivity touched countless lives; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Martin Deane Cheatham IV as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.