HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 35
(By Delegates Guthrie, Armstead, Border, Brown, Caputo, Hatfield,
Long, C. Miller, Moye, Palumbo, Perry, Pino, M. Poling, Spencer,
Webster, Wells and White)
Commemorating the life of Melba Lou Fitzwater White, Mayor of
Montgomery, longtime community leader, and beloved wife,
mother, and grandmother.
Whereas, Melba Lou Fitzwater White was a graduate of Montgomery
High School and West Virginia Institute of Technology, where she
was the Alumnus of the Year for the Community and Technical College
in 2002; and
Whereas, Ms. White served a two term-presidency of the Upper
Kanawha Valley Chamber of Commerce and was a board member until her
death; and
Whereas, Ms. White was a member and elder of Montgomery
Presbyterian Church, and past moderator and treasurer of
Presbyterian Women; and
Whereas, Ms. White was a member of Order of the Eastern Star
Kanawha Chapter 38, a member and past president of the West
Virginia University Institute of Technology Alumni Board, alumni of
Delta Zeta sorority, and a board member of the Upper Kanawha Valley Economic Development Corporation; and
Whereas, Ms. White was a board member of the Upper Kanawha
Valley Mayor's Economic Community and served on the Fayette County
Transition Team; and
Whereas, Ms. White was a former Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Brownie
Scout and Girl Scout leader and a former Sunday school teacher at
Montgomery Presbyterian Church; and
Whereas, Ms. White was a former employee of Governor John D.
Rockefeller's Office of Economic and Community Development, Tourism
and Parks and of Mount Olive Correctional Complex; and
Whereas, The Upper Kanawha Valley Chamber of Commerce named
Melba Lou Fitzwater White Citizen of the Year in 1999; and
Whereas, Governor Gaston Caperton honored Ms. White as a
Distinguished West Virginian in 1994; and
Whereas, Ms. White was a member of the Montgomery Rotary Club
and named a Paul Harris Fellow in 2005; and
Whereas, In 2001 Ms. White was the first runner-up in the award
category of government leaders by the West Virginia Federation of
Women's Club and awarded the "Acts of Kindness" award by the
Montgomery Women's Club; therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That regret is hereby expressed by the members of the House of
Delegates at the passing of Melba Lou Fitzwater White, Mayor of
Montgomery, longtime community leader, and beloved wife, mother, and grandmother; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates is
hereby requested to provide certified copies of this resolution to
the surviving family members of Melba Lou Fitzwater White.