V
irginia
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apitol
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onnections
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2014
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RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
B
ERNIE
H
ENDERSON
President
Funeral Celebrant
PARHAM CHAPEL
1771 Parham Road
(804) 288-3013
HUGUENOT CHAPEL
1020 Huguenot Road
(804) 794-1000
ATLEE CHAPEL
9271 Shady Grove Road
(804) 730-0035
Leo Wardrup:
A Great Advocate
for Women
in Politics
By Katherine Schoonover
I met Leo Wardrup for the first time at a
Republican breakfast in the 1990s. He always
seemed tough, funny, knowledgeable, and
the word that you invariably will hear used
to describe Leo Wardrup, cantankerous.
He would swagger up to the front of the
room and tell us what was really going on
in Richmond, and he was impressive. Leo
was tough, and he could be cantankerous,
but he was also kind, generous, and one of
the greatest advocates for women in politics
that I have ever met. When I first started
to work in politics for Senator Ken Stolle,
Leo reached out to me and helped me learn
to navigate through the political world in a way that no school ever
could have. I wasn’t the first woman Leo took under his wing and then
pushed out of the nest into the world, and I know I wasn’t the last.
Thelma Drake and Carolyn Weems are the two women who
immediately come to mind when you think about Leo Wardrup’s
advocacy for women. He helped Thelma win her seats in the House
of Delegates and Congress, and Carolyn win her seat on the Virginia
Beach School Board. When he was going to retire Carolyn was the
woman he asked to run to replace him.
When I asked Thelma to tell me about her relationship with Leo
she said:
“He was my mentor. Not only was he my mentor in the General
Assembly, but he was the force behind my going to Congress.
He wasn’t just my mentor; he got me on the [prestigious] back
row [on the Floor of the House of Delegates]. He thought that
women brought a lot to the table from a different point of view.
Leo really saw the benefit of having a different perspective. I
have never known any Republicans or Democrats who have
advocated for women the way that Leo did. I could call Leo and
ask for his help with anyone running for office. He was always
willing to share his political strategies, his expertise, and his
skill. He would tell you what he really believed. Just straight
out pure facts. No sugar coating, just facts.”
Carolyn’s response was equally glowing:
“I was humbled, honored, and surprised that he had such faith
in me and wanted me to replace him when he retired. Of all
of my memories of Leo, the memories that I appreciated the
most were when he would come up to me periodically and tell
me that he was proud of me. Most people thought of him as
scrappy, a real bulldog, and a great political competitor, which
he was, but he was also one of the most gentle and kind people
I have ever met.”
We frequently hear politicians talk about getting women involved
in politics. I don’t ever remember hearing Leo talk about needing to
get more women involved in politics, although I am sure that he must
have. I just saw Leo bring women into politics.
Katherine Schoonover, Editor/President of
The Aisle News
, worked
in the General Assembly, 2005-2013.
Publisher’s note: Leo Wardrup died July 2, 2014. He served in the
House of Delegates, 1992-2007.
From Melanie’s
Friends and Colleagues
Melanie Rhoades Gerheart died at
home early Tuesday morning, June 24 in
the loving embrace of her husband, Walter.
She was predeceased by her father, Melvin
Keith Rhoades. Melanie is survived by her
mother, Zenobia (“Toby”) Surles Rhoades;
her sister Zenobia (“Zee”) Rhoades Toledo
and husbandAl; her daughter Maggie Surles
Gerheart; her son Peter Miles Gerheart, and
daughter in law Megan Dixon Gerheart.
ALS, the disease which took Melanie
from us did not claim a victim. Melanie was
not and would not allow herself to become a victim. From the outset
of diagnosis, Melanie refused to be defined by this disease, refused
to allow its cruelties to loosen the bonds she held with family, friends
and professional colleagues.
Thus, our world is a dimmer place: now without her love, her
laughter, her withering sense of humor in the face of all pomposity,
and without her restless intelligence.
Melanie was born in Coats, North Carolina, October 24, 1954.
She was a 1976 graduate of James Madison University. Her long
professional life in public policy and politics was recognized by
the General Assembly in January with the unanimous passage of
House Joint Resolution 47 and Senate Resolution 16 which celebrate
her work as embracing “… the proposition that even the most
disadvantaged among Virginia’s citizenry deserve the best treatment
the Commonwealth’s healthcare professions can offer.”
This legislative recognition celebrated Melanie’s career as much
for her wit and humor as her skills as a lobbyist; as much for her
unfailing dedication to realize compassionate healthcare policies for
all Virginians—women and the disadvantaged chief among them—as
for the fairness, the determination of her advocacy. She was a lobbyist
of the old school when integrity was the only requisite for admission
and where integrity knew no party, had no affiliation and was itself
the fundamental currency of long-time success.
Melanie served faithfully as lobbyist, consultant, and advisor to
many health care organizations during her career, including CHIP
of Virginia, Virginia Emergency Physicians, Virginia Society of
Anesthesiologists, Virginia OB-GYN Society, District IV of the
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and Medical
Society of Virginia.
Melanie understood that as we share the times with others, we
share also this planet with other creatures. Her love and compassion
for all living things was boundless and legendary. Surely her passage
was noted in the heavens with a goodbye… and a welcome.
WARDRUP
Gerheart
Schoonover
In Memoriam
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