GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
S	2
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 475
 Judiciary II Committee Substitute Joint Resolution Adopted 8/9/01 

Sponsors:	     	
Referred to:	     	
March 15, 2001

     
A JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF LUNSFORD RICHARDSON PREYER AND EMILY HARRIS PREYER, TWO OF THE STATE'S MOST DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.

Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer was born on January 11, 1919, in Greensboro, North Carolina, to W. Y. Preyer Sr. and Mary Norris Richardson Preyer; and
Whereas, Emily Irving Harris Preyer was born on October 16, 1919, to William Coleman Harris and Jane Scales Harris in Reidsville, North Carolina, and grew up in Greensboro; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer graduated from Woodberry Forest High School in Woodberry Forest, Virginia, in 1937 and received a bachelors degree from Princeton University in 1941; and 
Whereas, Emily Preyer graduated from Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, in 1939, where she served as student body president and later received a masters degree from the University of Virginia; and
Whereas, during World War II, L. Richardson Preyer was a lieutenant in the United States Navy serving four years on destroyer duty in the Atlantic and South Pacific as a torpedo officer, gunnery officer, and executive officer and received a Bronze Star for action in Okinawa; and
Whereas, during World War II, Emily Preyer served in the Red Cross in Australia and the Philippines; and
Whereas, after the war, L. Richardson Preyer obtained a law degree from Harvard University then returned to Greensboro, where he established a successful law practice; and
Whereas, after her service in the Red Cross, Emily Preyer taught school for a number of years in Greensboro and Charlotte and for a brief time worked as a proofreader for The New Yorker magazine; and
Whereas, the Preyers were married in 1946 and began a life dedicated to their family of five children, Richardson Jr., Britt, Mary Norris, Jane, and Emily, and their community; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer served as a city judge from 1953 to 1954, a State Superior Court judge from 1956 to 1961, and a United States District Court judge from 1961 to 1963; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer served as senior vice‑president, trust officer, and city executive of North Carolina National Bank of Greensboro from 1964 to 1966; and
Whereas, in 1963, L. Richardson Preyer resigned his judgeship and unsuccessfully ran for Governor; and
Whereas, in 1968, L. Richardson Preyer was elected to the United States Congress, where he served with honor and distinction until 1980; and
Whereas, as a Congressman, L. Richardson Preyer served as chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics, which established the Congressional Code of Ethics, and as a member of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, which investigated the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; and
Whereas, Emily Preyer was actively involved in her husband's political campaigns and served as president of the Congressional Wives Club and the Congressional Wives Prayer Group; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer and Emily Preyer worked diligently for the good of their community and State by actively and generously supporting numerous civic, cultural, charitable, and political causes; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer was a member of the Piedmont Land Conservancy and the National Governing Board of Common Cause, chair of the Coastal Futures Committee and the North Carolina Outward Bound School, commissioner of the Greensboro Little League and Pony Baseball programs, trustee of the National Nature Conservancy and the Hastings Institute of Medicine, and director of Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc., and Piedmont Management, Inc.; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer served on the board of directors of Guilford College, Davidson College, the University of North Carolina School of Social Work, Community Self Help, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the North Carolina Museum of History, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Excellence Foundation; and
Whereas, Emily Preyer served on the boards of The North Carolina Nature Conservancy, the North Carolina Zoological Society, the Guilford Battleground Co., the Shepherd Center, the Board of Trustees of The University of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and served as alumni association president of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer received numerous honors and awards, including the Inter‑Club Council's Outstanding Civic Leader of the Year Award, the Greensboro Chamber's "Uncle Joe Cannon" Award for outstanding leadership, the University of North Carolina School of Medicine's Distinguished Service Award, and the Washingtonian Magazine's Phillip Hart Memorial Award for Conscience; and
Whereas, in 1989, the federal courthouse and post office in Greensboro were named the L. Richardson Preyer Building; and
Whereas, Emily Preyer was named Greensboro's Woman of the Year in 1958 for her civic activities; and
Whereas, in 1998, the Preyers were the recipients of the North Carolina Award for Public Service, the State's highest civilian honor; and
Whereas, in 2000, an 18,648‑acre site in Tyrrell County was renamed the Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Coastal Reserve; and
Whereas, the Preyers were active in the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro; and
Whereas, Emily Preyer died on December 12, 1999; and
Whereas, L. Richardson Preyer died on April 3, 2001; and
Whereas, the Preyers are survived by their children, L. Richardson Preyer Jr., Britt Armfield Preyer, Mary Norris Preyer Oglesby, Jane Bethell Preyer, and Emily Harris Preyer Fountain, several grandchildren, and other close relatives; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
SECTION 1.  The General Assembly expresses high esteem and regard for the extraordinary lives of L. Richardson Preyer and Emily Preyer and mourns the loss of two of North Carolina's most distinguished citizens.
SECTION 2.  The General Assembly extends its sincere sympathy to the family of L. Richardson Preyer and Emily Preyer on the loss of their beloved parents, grandparents, and friends.
SECTION 3.  The Secretary of State shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the family of L. Richardson Preyer and Emily Preyer.
SECTION 4.  This resolution is effective upon ratification.