SPONSOR:	Sen. Copeland, Sens. Adams, DeLuca, Blevins & Sorenson; on behalf of all Senators

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

144th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 16

HONORING THE MEMORY AND CELEBRATING THE EXEMPLARY LIFE OF THE HONORABLE W. LAIRD STABLER, JR., WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON THE 24TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2008 AT THE AGE OF 77 YEARS.

WHEREAS, W. Laird Stabler, Jr., of Wilmington passed away on the 24^th Day of February, 2008, at the age of 77 years; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Stabler was born on the Second Day of May, 1930, in Nashville, Tennessee, and moved with his parents to Seaford, Delaware, in 1939; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Stabler attended the public schools of Seaford until 1944, and went on to graduate from the Cranbrook School in Michigan as a member of the Class of 1949, and from Princeton University as a member of the Class of 1952; and

WHEREAS, he graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in 1954 and returned to Delaware, where he was admitted to the Delaware Bar and joined the Wilmington law firm of Potter, Anderson and Corroon, later practicing law in his own firm; and

WHEREAS, during the early 1960s, Mr. Stabler served for a time as a Deputy Attorney General and was elected to the Delaware House of Representatives in 1965, ultimately serving as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and as House Majority Leader; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Stabler was elected Attorney General of Delaware in 1970 and went on to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware during the Ford Administration; and

WHEREAS, in 1985, Mr. Stabler was elected Republican National Committeeman, a post he held for the next two decades; and

WHEREAS, he was honored for his service to the Republican Party by former President George H. W. Bush, among other luminaries, at a 2006 dinner during which President Bush lauded Mr. Stabler for his integrity, his honesty, his humility, and his dedication to the Republican Party, while at the same time demonstrating his ability to work effectively with leaders of all political persuasions; and

WHEREAS, in addition to his official and political responsibilities, Mr. Stabler had a long and distinguished record of leadership in a wide variety of community service organizations and causes, as well as a keen love of hunting and fishing, tennis, squash and golf, and was an avid baseball fan, among other interests; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Stabler’s life was blessed by his loving marriage of 55 years to the former Margaretta du Pont Kitchell, by his children, W. Laird Stabler, III, Ramsay C. Stabler, Margaretta S. Andrews and their families, including ten grandchildren, and by his three sisters, Cornelia S. Canby, Caroline Applegate and Wilhelmina Bergland; and

WHEREAS, as we remember this fine Delaware gentleman, we recall perhaps most vividly his guiding ethic of fairness and good citizenship which informed all his actions, his courtliness and his wonderful sense of humor;

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 144^th General Assembly of the State of Delaware that the members do hereby honor the memory and celebrate the life of former State Representative and Delaware Attorney General W. Laird Stabler, Jr., an exemplary Delaware citizen.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitably prepared copies of this resolution be presented to the Stabler family upon its passage.