Bill Text: VA SJR355 | 2017 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Giles Crowder Upshur, Jr.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-02-10 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ355ER) [SJR355 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-SJR355-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Giles Crowder Upshur, Jr., a United States Naval Intelligence officer and respected community leader on the Eastern Shore, died on July 26, 2016; and
WHEREAS, a son of Giles and Jewel Upshur, Giles Upshur spent all of his early life in Eastville and graduated from what was then Eastville High School (now Northampton High School); and
WHEREAS, Giles Upshur enrolled at Virginia Military Institute; in August 1943, he was drafted to serve in World War II, and he served on the USS Wyoming and the battleship USS Missouri; and
WHEREAS, fluent in Russian and Arabic, Giles Upshur's naval career spanned World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and assignments in the Middle East and London during the Cold War; and
WHEREAS, Giles Upshur was the first Intelligence officer to attend the National War College; he served in Vietnam as Chief of Naval Intelligence during the Tet Offensive and later as Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence in Europe when he was stationed in London and worked with British Secret Service; and
WHEREAS, Giles Upshur retired as a Navy captain in 1971, returned to the United States, and became president of a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm; in 1973, he went back home to become executive director of the Eastern Shore Community Services Board, a position he held for 13 years; and
WHEREAS, Giles Upshur was devoted to enabling the Eastern Shore's mentally disabled citizens to live at home instead of being relocated to mental institutions across the Chesapeake Bay; he helped to found the Association for Retarded Citizens and Eastern Shore Rural Health System; and
WHEREAS, Giles Upshur served on the Northampton County Planning Commission, volunteered at Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital, and served on the boards of the Historical Society of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Hospice of Eastern Shore; and
WHEREAS, a longtime vestry member at Christ Church in Eastville, Giles Upshur was a prominent and respected citizen of the Eastern Shore; he leaves behind a legacy of devotion to improving its communities; and
WHEREAS, predeceased by his first wife, Jane, and his second wife, Claudia, Giles Upshur will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his children, Cary, Susan, Giles, Arthur, and Mary Margaret, and their families; and a host of good 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 Giles Crowder Upshur, Jr., a United States Naval Intelligence officer and respected Eastern Shore community leader; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Giles Crowder Upshur, Jr., as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.
