Northern Virginia Loses a Great Champion in Gartlan
By Eleanor Gomolinski-Lally
Senator Gartlan was born in Great Neck, NY. After graduation from high school, he served in the Navy during World War II. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1949 and received a law degree from that university in 1952. He was considered a skilled trial lawyer while a member of the Washington firm of Melrod, Redman and Gartlan. In order to focus more on his legislative work, he retired from the firm in 1986.
Mr. Gartlan was known in the General Assembly for his sharp wit, intellect and determination. He was described as a “master of contemporaneous discourses.” As a liberal Democrat during an era of mostly conservative Republican members of the Assembly, he was passionate about his causes. In 1979, he sponsored a criminal sexual-assault reform bill, which died at the end of the session but was eventually passed later under the sponsorship of another senator. Governor Kaine, at the time of Gartlan’s death, described him as a true statesman, saying, “He wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to issues of social and economic justice.” During his final year in the Senate, he led efforts to increase funding for Virginia’s troubled mental health system and wrote a recommendation on how to modernize mental health laws.
Another of Mr. Gartlan’s passions was the environment. In the 1980s, he was chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. This cause followed him into his retirement. In his blog, Paul Gilbert, executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, states, “Virginia and the whole Chesapeake Region were greatly enhanced by the wisdom and activism of the late state Senator Gartlan.” Gilbert says that he considered Mr. Gartlan as one of his mentors. Around 2000, Mr. Gartlan joined the board of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust while Gilbert was president. He writes, “Joe was a giant in the environmental field. He chaired the multi-state commission on the Chesapeake Bay that led directly to the first Chesapeake Bay agreement. Joe had the unique ability to be tenacious about the cause he was pushing, and at the same time so kind and gentlemanly that even his opponents respected him.”
Fairfax Supervisor Gerry Hyland issued a statement: “Sen. Joe Gartlan was more than just a friend to me. He was a dedicated, well-respected, progressive public servant who was able to work with his colleagues across the aisle to pass common sense legislation in the best interest of his constituents.”
Bill Lynch, a neighbor of the Gartlans in Mason Neck and long-time family friend, remembers the senator back in the 1970s when he had been in office only six years. He was impressed with his physical and intellectual energy, referring to him as the “Energizer Bunny.” He says it was remarkable that he was able to put so many bills before the legislature, which Bill characterized as being very “laid back” in those days. He noted his ability to work in a conservative atmosphere as a liberal with many interests and said, “He could disagree and not be disagreeable.”
Senator Gartlan died in the INOVA Mount Vernon Hospital, which he fought to save and where he was a trustee. He leaves behind his wife of 58 years, Fredona Manderfield Gartlan, six children and seven grandchildren.
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