Bill Text: VA SR85 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Marie Brinkley Hill.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-02-29 - Bill text as passed Senate (SR85ER) [SR85 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-SR85-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Marie Brinkley Hill, an active and beloved member of the Suffolk community who made a profound and lasting impact on many lives over the past 102 years, died on July 9, 2023; and
WHEREAS, the mother of nine children, Marie Hill played a significant role in the integration of Suffolk Public Schools by being among the first parents to send their children to the recently integrated Chuckatuck Elementary School and through her efforts to integrate the former John Yeates High School Junior-Senior Prom; and
WHEREAS, a longtime member of the NAACP, Marie Hill marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968 during his visit to Suffolk and would continue her streak of activism throughout her life, attending city council meetings even while confined to a wheelchair; and
WHEREAS, Marie Hill was a living repository of the culture and history of Hobson Village and proudly represented the historic town at the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Festival in 2007 and on other occasions; and
WHEREAS, Marie Hill gave generously of her time in support of her community, serving as a resource volunteer for the Virginia Department of Corrections and as a chaplain officer of the Hobson Artesian Well Association, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, a strong believer in the importance of education, Marie Hill was undeterred in her pursuit of a General Educational Development diploma late in life, overcoming disabilities, including blindness in one eye and the limited use of her right arm, to earn her diploma at the age of 94; and
WHEREAS, guided throughout her life by her deep and abiding faith, Marie Hill enjoyed worship and fellowship with others and actively served the community as a member of Macedonia Baptist Church in Suffolk; and
WHEREAS, preceded in death by her loving husband, Ernest, Jr., and her son Joe, Marie Hill will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her children, Ernest III, Clyde, Julius, Odell, Wendy, Roxanna, Mary, and Veronica, and their families; and by numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of Virginia hereby note with great sadness the loss of Marie Brinkley Hill, a treasured member of the Suffolk community whose life of accomplishments and good deeds was an inspiration to all who knew her; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Marie Brinkley Hill as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's respect for her memory.
