2026 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 218

Celebrating the life of John Wendell Martin, Ph.D.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 9, 2026

Agreed to by the Senate, March 11, 2026

WHEREAS, John Wendell Martin, Ph.D., a respected counselor, therapist, and clinical director, intrepid traveler, and beloved member of the Richmond community, died on November 28, 2024; and

WHEREAS, after graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in Richmond in 1970, John Martin earned a bachelor's degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1974, a master of social work degree from Tulane University in 1975, and a doctoral degree from Florida State University in 1980; and

WHEREAS, John Martin served in many distinguished roles as a licensed professional counselor, including as a therapist at Western Tidewater Mental Health Center; clinical director at Fayette Community Mental Health Center in Uniontown, Pennsylvania; counselor and assistant professor at the University of Virginia; clinical counselor at Hospice of Tacoma in Washington state; and in private practice in Richmond; and

WHEREAS, John Martin advanced the field of licensed professional counseling and ensured the readiness of aspiring counselors as an oral examiner on the Virginia Board of Professional Counselors; and

WHEREAS, John Martin was an avid traveler, hiker, and biker whose notable achievements included visiting all 50 states by the age of 50; summiting Mount Denali in Alaska, Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the Grand Teton in Wyoming, and Mounts Adams, Hood, and Rainier in the Pacific Northwest; and trekking to the Mount Everest base camp through the Khumbu region of Nepal; and

WHEREAS, John Martin will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his loving wife, Mary, and by 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 John Wendell Martin, Ph.D., a cherished member of the Richmond community whose kindness and generosity touched 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 John Wendell Martin, Ph.D., as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.