Bill Text: VA HJR798 | 2023 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Juliette Carolyn Brooks Herring.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-02-25 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ798ER) [HJR798 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2023-HJR798-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Juliette Carolyn Brooks Herring, a devoted educator who shared her love of music with countless students and a beloved mother and grandmother, died on May 11, 2022; and
WHEREAS, Carolyn Herring was born to Julius Caesar and Parmis Blane Brooks in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1940; she began to develop a lifelong passion for music at a young age and began playing the piano when she was eight years old; and
WHEREAS, Carolyn Herring began studying performance piano in 1958 at what is now Tennessee State University, where she was also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, a deeply driven learner, Carolyn Herring changed her major to music education and earned her bachelor's degree in music education in less than four years and started her master's studies before graduating in 1962; later in life she continued her studies by taking master's level education classes at George Mason University; and
WHEREAS, in the 1960s, Carolyn Herring was a traveling teacher and taught music to children at segregated schools in Tennessee, developing an appreciation for the freedom of the open road while driving from school to school in her pink and white Dodge; and
WHEREAS, many of Carolyn Herring's students studied in underequipped one-room schoolhouses, and she often used her own salary to purchase instruments to enhance their learning experiences; and
WHEREAS, in the 1970s and 1980s, Carolyn Herring traveled with her husband, Charles, while he served in the military; as some states did not recognize out-of-state teaching certificates for military spouses at the time, she served as a private piano instructor when she was unable to find work in local schools; and
WHEREAS, Carolyn Herring advocated on behalf of her fellow military spouses and worked to secure health care benefits for former spouses and children of military service members; she contributed to the passage of the Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act enacted by the United States Congress in 1982; and
WHEREAS, Carolyn Herring enjoyed traveling, especially making trips around the country to watch her son play football for Duke University, and she visited Scotland to conduct genealogy research on her family's heritage; and
WHEREAS, Carolyn Herring's love of music extended to dance and she often attended dance classes with her daughter until she was 75 years old; and
WHEREAS, Carolyn Herring will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her children, Charles L. Herring, Jr., MD, and the Honorable Charniele L. Herring, and their families, and 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 Juliette Carolyn Brooks Herring; 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 Juliette Carolyn Brooks Herring as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for her memory.
