2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 630

Celebrating the life of Bonnie Sue Neighbour.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 17, 2025

Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 2025

WHEREAS, Bonnie Sue Neighbour, a former educator and talented musician who touched many lives in the Richmond region through her compassion and determined advocacy, died on November 18, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Bonnie Neighbour spent her youth between Illinois and New Jersey, gaining an early appreciation for the adventure of travel; during her high school years, she proudly used her own money to fund a trip to Europe, subsequently visited Iran while attending college, and notched many other destinations in the United States and around the world in her lifetime; and

WHEREAS, after graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in music, Bonnie Neighbour taught band in Nebraska for a time, then ultimately settled in Richmond, where she was an active member of the community for three decades; and

WHEREAS, Bonnie Neighbour attended Richmond's Union Presbyterian Seminary and was a respected leader in various church congregations, most recently at Ginter Park Presbyterian Church, where she participated in many social justice and sustainability programs; and

WHEREAS, Bonnie Neighbour was a passionate advocate for people with disabilities and a champion for expanded mental health services; she combined her own experiences with mental health and her background as an educator to empower others in their personal journeys to recovery and wellness; and

WHEREAS, Bonnie Neighbour maintained her lifelong love of music and sang with the Richmond Allied Voices Treble Chorus for many years; and

WHEREAS, Bonnie Neighbour will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her wife of nearly 13 years, Mickie; her daughters, Jen and Rebecca, and their families; and 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 Bonnie Sue Neighbour, a teacher, musician, and community leader in Richmond; 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 Bonnie Sue Neighbour as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for her memory.