2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 566

Celebrating the life of Ethel Dunbar Doherty.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 5, 2025

WHEREAS, Ethel Dunbar Doherty, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and treasured member of the Winchester community, died on August 3, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Ethel Doherty briefly attended the former Wilson Teachers College in Washington, D.C., before marrying her high school sweetheart and the love of her life, John Doherty, at the age of 18; and

WHEREAS, Ethel Doherty raised a family of ten children while supporting her husband throughout his career in the United States Department of State, which took the family to several countries around the world, including France, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Belgium, and Portugal; and

WHEREAS, Ethel Doherty settled in Winchester in 1979 and made her home there over the next 45 years, becoming an active and engaged member of various community organizations and groups; and

WHEREAS, Ethel Doherty's passion for social justice and peace led to her involvement with the Shenandoah Peace Coalition, the Coalition for Racial Unity, and the Valley Interfaith Council; and

WHEREAS, Ethel Doherty's concern for the well-being of others inspired her to give generously of her time as a Spanish medical interpreter, hospice caregiver, and tutor at what is today the local Boys & Girls Club; and

WHEREAS, Ethel Doherty took great pride in her work with the NAACP to address a case of injustice involving extreme sentencing and her efforts to help restore the civil rights of felons; and

WHEREAS, above all else, Ethel Doherty found joy and a great sense of purpose in raising her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren over the years, imparting upon them wisdom and perspectives that remain with them to this day; and

WHEREAS, guided throughout her life by her faith, Ethel Doherty enjoyed worship and fellowship with her community at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shenandoah Valley in Frederick County over many years; and

WHEREAS, preceded in death by her loving husband of 62 years, John, and her sons Jack and Kevin, Ethel Doherty will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her children, Mimi, Pat, Kate, Mick, Theresa, Julia, Brigid, and Larry, and their families and by numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Delegates hereby note with great sadness the loss of Ethel Dunbar Doherty, a cherished member of the Winchester community whose light brightened 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 Ethel Dunbar Doherty as an expression of the House of Delegates' respect for her memory.