HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 664 Offered January 10, 2007 Prefiled January 9, 2007 Celebrating the life of Herman Anderson Hicks. ---------- Patron-- Hall ----------

WHEREAS, Herman Anderson Hicks of Richmond, a respected citizen and the hard-working owner of the barbershop at the John Marshall Hotel for two decades, died at the age of 89 on September 24, 2006; and

WHEREAS, a native of Mineral, Herman Hicks was the eldest of 11 children, who witnessed his father suffering every day with the symptoms of black lung; and

WHEREAS, not happy when his father wanted him to quit high school to work in a West Virginia coal mine, Herman Hicks moved to Orange County, Virginia, where he found he enjoyed working as a barber, a trade learned by following a manual he purchased from Montgomery Ward; the manual remains a prized possession of a close friend and fellow barbershop owner, Hugh Campbell; and

WHEREAS, Herman Hicks served his country in the United States Navy during World War II, and he returned home to Virginia after the war to look for a permanent occupation; and

WHEREAS, Herman Hicks answered an advertisement and landed a part-time position at the fashionable John Marshall Hotel Barber Shop in Richmond; and

WHEREAS, because of self-study and previous experience, Herman Hicks' credentials were more than ample for him to be granted a license under a grandfather clause when the Commonwealth began to require barber's to be licensed professionals; and

WHEREAS, a lifelong learner, Herman Hicks nevertheless attended professional barber school and continued to study on his own and even acquired advanced training to become an instructor; and

WHEREAS, when the barbershop owner at the John Marshall died in 1960, Herman Hicks was given the opportunity to purchase the shop with its marble counters and fine accoutrements; and

WHEREAS, a witty conversationalist, Herman Hicks provided excellent service and a bright spot in the busy day of the governor and lawmakers, businessmen, and stockbrokers at the popular hotel barbershop; and

WHEREAS, committed to giving back to his community for his fortune in life, Herman Hicks  was an enthusiastic member of the Richmond Host Lions Club for more than 50 years; and

WHEREAS, Herman Hicks was appointed by Governor Lynwood Holton to serve as a board member for what is now the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulations; and

WHEREAS, Herman Hicks will be fondly remembered for his professional and amiable manner and his love of political talk and current affairs and greatly missed by his family, his numerous friends and admirers, and his faithful clientele; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly mourn the passing of an outstanding Virginian, Herman Anderson Hicks; 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 Herman Anderson Hicks as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.