Three state governors have ordered flags to fly at half-staff this weekend.
Under the U.S. Flag Code, governors, mayors of the District of Columbia and the president can order flags can fly at half-staff to pay tribute following the death of a military member, government official or emergency first responder.
Virginia
On August 16, all flags on state and local buildings and grounds in the Commonwealth of Virginia will be flown at half-staff in memory of former first lady of Virginia, Roxane Gatling Gilmore.
On August 7, former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore, who served from 1998 to 2002, announced that his wife Roxane had died at age 70 after a long illness.
In a statement, the current Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said: “Roxane’s influence and impact on Virginia will be greatly missed but she has left a lasting legacy through her work, including in directing and overseeing the renovation of the Executive Mansion. From 1998-2000 she personally approved almost every detail to restore the structural integrity and interior of America’s longest continuously occupied Governor’s home. Virginia’s iconic Executive Mansion will always be her legacy.”
In a column for The Virginia Mercury, politician turned columnist Bob Lewis described Roxane Gilmore as “a first lady of great intellect, character and wit.”
Jim Gilmore, supported by his wife Roxane, led Virginia’s response to the September 11, 2001, attacks after a plane crashed into the Pentagon—which is located just outside Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Virginia—killing 184 people.
Ohio
When Robert A. Hagler retired as a Greene County Judge in 2013, he had served 40 years and was the longest tenured Common Pleas Court judge in Ohio. The state is paying tribute to him, following his death at age 84 on August 3.
His obituary noted that he was the assistant prosecutor of Greene County from 1967 to 1970, Greene County Juvenile Court Judge from 1973 to 1995 and the Greene County Probate Court Judge from 1973 until his retirement in 2013.
Hagler is survived by his four children and 10 grand-children.
Delaware
“Most people run away from danger. And then there are an elite few who run toward dangerous situations to help others,” said Governor John Carney as he paid tribute to Sussex County employee and voluntary firefighter Thomas Wilson Berry III, 23, who died this week at a crash site.
While on his way back to country offices on August 13, Berry stopped to help at a incident on the U.S. 9/Lewes-Georgetown highway. According to WBOC-TV, Berry was helping a motorist who had hit a utility pole when the pole snapped and electrical power lines came down on him.
Berry joined the Ellendale Volunteer Fire Company as a junior member at age 15.
“We are beyond heartbroken at this loss of such a dedicated and caring young man who exemplified public service until his last moments on this earth,” said longtime volunteer firefighter and County Council President Michael H. Vincent.
