RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SYMPATHY ON THE DEATH OF M. ADELA EADS OF KENT.

Resolved by this House:

WHEREAS, Tuesday, July 8, 2003, was a day of sadness for the State of Connecticut when former state senator and representative Dell Eads died at Sharon Hospital; and

WHEREAS, she was born Mary Adela Diaz in Brooklyn, New York, on March 2, 1920, to Edith (Gilmour) Diaz and Manuel Diaz; and

WHEREAS, she was the widow of G. Vernon Eads, whom she married in 1942; and

WHEREAS, she is survived by two sons, Manuel D. "Skip" Eads of Kent, and Gregory M. Eads, also of Kent; a brother, Manuel "Mike" Diaz of Virginia; and five grandsons; and

WHEREAS, she was a graduate of Sweet Briar College and the Katherine Gibbs School, former Trustee of Sharon Hospital and the Marvelwood School, an avid supporter of the Connecticut Junior Republic, a partner in her husband's drop forge equipment business, and began her career in politics on the Kent Board of Education, where she served for 26 years, and on the Region One Board of Education, both of which she chaired; and

WHEREAS, Senator Dell Eads represented the towns of Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Sherman, Torrington, Warren, and Washington and their people; and

WHEREAS, she served two terms in the House of Representatives and ten terms in the Senate, served as Senate Republican leader for ten years, longer than any leader in the history of the General Assembly, and served as Senate President Pro Tempore in 1995 and 1996; and

WHEREAS, as Senate Chair of the Education Committee in 1985 and 1986, she worked to secure the passage of the Education Enhancement Act of 1986; and

WHEREAS, she fought for the Torrington Branch of the University of Connecticut, the Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse, and was the guiding force in the creation of the Office of the Child Advocate; and

WHEREAS, she has always enjoyed the goodwill and respect of her colleagues, House and Senate, Republican and Democrat, because of her honesty, directness and wit.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the members of the Connecticut General Assembly honor and remember Dell Eads with respect and affection, and express their sincere and heartfelt condolences on her death, which is a profound loss to the people of the State of Connecticut; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of M. Adela (Dell) Eads as an expression of the respect, affection, and high esteem in which she was held.