HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 839 Offered February 1, 2007 Celebrating the life of Geneva Harper Revell. ---------- Patrons-- Alexander; Senator: Miller ----------

WHEREAS, Geneva Harper Revell, an admired community supporter and beloved citizen of Norfolk, died on January 17, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Geneva Harper was the daughter of the late William and Martha Harper; she was the youngest of six siblings—Theodore, Samuel, William, Mary, and Bernice, grew up in the Lindenwood community of Norfolk, and graduated with honors from Booker T. Washington High School; and

WHEREAS, in 1933, Geneva Harper married Lovies Edward Gilliam and the couple had a devoted daughter Joyce; and

WHEREAS, following the death of her husband in 1950, Geneva Gilliam went to work for a Hampton Roads nonprofit that fights to alleviate the root causes of poverty, the Southeastern Tidewater Opportunity Project, Inc., which fostered her lifelong commitment to helping her fellow citizens in need; and

WHEREAS, in 1960, Geneva Gilliam fell in love and married Thomas Revell, and the couple settled in the Inglenook area of Norfolk; and

WHEREAS, a compassionate volunteer and neighborhood supporter, Geneva Revell was admired for her many hours of altruistic work in the community; and

WHEREAS, Geneva Revell was a faithful member of New Hope Church of God in Christ and was active in the church's many missions under the late Dr. Herman Clark and then under Pastor Calvin Durham; and

WHEREAS, known to the congregation as Mother Revell, she served as the president of missionaries; an enlivened speaker on the church’s weekly radio broadcasts; a committed member of the Mother’s Board; and, especially committed to young people, as an inspirational teacher of the Young Adult Bible Class; and

WHEREAS, Geneva Revell will be fondly remembered for her wisdom and kind and generous nature and greatly missed by her many loving family members, her countless friends and admirers, and the congregation of New Hope Church of God in Christ; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly mourn the passing of a fine Virginian, Geneva Harper Revell; 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 Geneva Harper Revell as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.