[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 140 (Friday, August 30, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REMEMBRANCE OF HOPE ``JACKIE'' MURPHY WHITTAKER

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                         HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 30, 2019

  Mr. WITTMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Hope 
``Jackie'' Murphy Whittaker, who passed away on 20 August 2019.
  She was born 20 January 1935, the only child of Frank Marvin Murphy 
of Ayrfield and Hope Alice Dadmun of Petersburg and Norfolk. Jackie 
lived a long and varied life, raising her children, managing the farm, 
Ayrfield, where her family has lived since 1769, working on the 
Virginia Tech Extension Farm at Liberty Hall in Mount Holly, and 
spending 18 years as a customer service representative at Dominion 
Power before retiring in 1997.
  Jackie was a Red Cross water safety instructor in her youth, and was 
an avid hunter and fisherman, inviting others into the outdoors with 
her enthusiasm. She inherited her mother's love of music and singing; 
she particularly enjoyed classical music and opera. She directed the 
choir at Yeocomico Church for several years. Jackie participated in 
various other nearby choral groups over the years as well, such as the 
Essex Community Chorus, and concerts at Andrew Chapel and St. James in 
Montross. When her children approached school age, she added her 
forceful support to the other local parents who sought to establish a 
small private school to provide their children the best possible 
education. Their efforts resulted in the creation of Woodland Academy 
in Neenah, VA, a place of quality primary education for nearly 50 
years. She was as active in the Boy Scouts as her son, serving on the 
District Committee and participating in many district Camporees and 
training events. She was a patriot who held an undying belief in the 
greatness and wonder of this country. Jackie graduated from St. 
Margaret's School in Tappahannock and then went to Westhampton College 
in Richmond for a year before attending and graduating from Women's 
College of Greensboro in 1957.
  She was predeceased in 1997 by her husband of 35 years, Arthur Davis 
Whittaker. She is survived by a son, Cmdr. A. Davis Whittaker, Jr, 
(Lynn); a daughter, Sarah Leigh Whittaker Montuori (David); a grandson, 
Anthony Francis Arthur Montuori; a step-daughter, Anne Marie Whittaker, 
and a lot of extended family and dear friends in the Northern Neck she 
loved so much.

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