WHEREAS, beloved master fiddler and carpenter Lovell Louis Coleman, Sr., died on January 10, 2021, at the age of 97 in Charlottesville; and

WHEREAS, Lovell Coleman was born in Charlottesville in 1923 and began his music career at the age of 14 after being recruited to play the fiddle for a band whose lead musician had been born before the Civil War; and

WHEREAS, many Virginia musicians had the honor of playing music with Lovell Coleman over the years, most notably the Virginia Vagabonds, the Hintonaires, and Jodie and Friends, as well as his fellow musicians in the Lovell Coleman Band; and

WHEREAS, Lovell Coleman continued playing music up until the time of his death, visiting nursing homes to play several times a week until restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from doing so; and

WHEREAS, Lovell Coleman served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, serving as a gunner with the 491st Bombardment Group in England and on Okinawa Island, achieving the rank of staff sergeant; and

WHEREAS, Lovell Coleman was a master carpenter and builder who constructed many local churches and homes and continued to maintain them well into his 80s; and

WHEREAS, a documentary of Lovell Coleman's life, "The Ruination of Lovell Coleman," directed by Ross McDermott, was awarded Best Short Documentary Film at the 2017 Virginia Film Festival, and the program "Charlottesville Inside-Out" on Virginia Public Media continues to air an episode featuring his life and music; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by three of his children, Lovell Coleman, Jr., Tommy Coleman, and Max Coleman, Lovell Coleman will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his devoted wife of 40 years, Edith; his children, Nancy Miller, Mike Coleman, Sharon Duffy, Suzanne McDonald, Steve Coleman, and Kenny Coleman, and their families; his stepchildren, Scott Fielding, Glenn Fielding, Vincent Fielding, Sheila Fletcher, Dan Fielding, and Jerry Fielding, and their families; and his brother, Pete Coleman; and

WHEREAS, Lovell Coleman will be fondly remembered by his family members and friends and by the many people whose lives he touched through his music; 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 Lovell Louis Coleman, Sr.; 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 Lovell Louis Coleman, Sr., as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.