2026 SESSION

ENROLLED

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 296

Celebrating the life of Nicole Gugenheim Yancey.

Agreed to by the Senate, March 13, 2026

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 14, 2026

WHEREAS, Nicole Gugenheim Yancey, a loving wife, mother, and grandmother and active and beloved member of the Newport News community who devoted many years to fostering positive ties between the citizens of France and the United States, died in March 2026; and

WHEREAS, born in Saint-Amand-Montrond, France, Nicole Yancey was a Holocaust survivor who endured the horrors of World War II before coming to Hampton in 1963, when she became one of the first foreign exchange students at what was then Christopher Newport College; and

WHEREAS, Nicole Yancey went on to serve as the honorary consul of France to the Commonwealth for 25 years, during which time she coordinated the establishment of the French Memorial in Yorktown and helped identify key places of significance to the history of relations between the United States and France; and

WHEREAS, Nicole Yancey supported the growth and development of young people as a French educator at Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Newport News and by assisting with French classes at Warwick High School in Newport News and in York County Public Schools; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of her service, Nicole Yancey was presented with France's most prestigious honors, including the Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, and the Gold Medal of the Renaissance Française for Culture, Solidarity, and Francophonie; and

WHEREAS, Nicole Yancey will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her children, Richard, Christopher, and the Honorable David Etienne Yancey, and their families; and by 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 Nicole Gugenheim Yancey, a treasured member of the Newport News community whose legacy of courage, service, and dedication will forever inspire 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 Nicole Gugenheim Yancey as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for her memory.