Nominated by the Department of Human Services
Mary A.R. Marshall came to the forefront of County politics in the 1950s when she joined the efforts of the League of Women Voters to fight Virginia’s policy of massive resistance to U.S. Supreme Court mandates to desegregate all school systems.
In the 1960s, she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates where she served for 24 years. During her time in Richmond, Marshall sponsored landmark legislation that modernized state policies and built a reputation as a champion of daycare, mental health, and the rights of the elderly. She lobbied tirelessly on women’s legislation, which helped to bring about dramatic reform to the laws of the Commonwealth that were detrimental to women.
When she died, former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder praised Mrs. Marshall as a “tireless advocate of the interests and concerns of her constituents and a pioneer in the efforts to ensure true equality for women.”