2025 SESSION
ENROLLED
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 325
Celebrating the life of Thomas S. Whipple.
Agreed to by the Senate, February 6, 2025
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 10, 2025
WHEREAS, Thomas S. Whipple of Arlington, a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency and a well-known figure in state government whose popular daily news clipping service helped keep elected officials and members of the public informed on a wide range of issues, died on November 18, 2024; and
WHEREAS, Thomas Tom Whipple grew up in Scarsdale, New York, and graduated from Bronxville High School; he continued his education at what is now Rice University, earned a master's degree from the School of International Service at American University, and conducted doctoral studies at the London School of Economics; and
WHEREAS, Tom Whipple served the nation as a member of the United States Army, specializing in counterintelligence, then began a distinguished 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency; and
WHEREAS, Tom Whipple helped the Central Intelligence Agency adapt to a period of rapid change and led efforts to modernize technology in the agency's operations center; he was a trusted friend and mentor to his colleagues and trained a new generation of analysts before his well-earned retirement; and
WHEREAS, Tom Whipple was an early adopter of the Internet, and in the mid-1990s, he began combing local news websites across the Commonwealth for stories of interest and delivering them to a friend who was running for a statewide elected office; and
WHEREAS, Tom Whipple's curated news briefs were a hit with state officials on both sides of the aisle, and he soon began delivering the articles via email to anyone who asked, rising at 4:30 a.m., seven days a week, to compile The Whipple Report; and
WHEREAS, after 20 years, Tom Whipple retired from producing his signature report and provided his email list to the Virginia Public Access Project, which agreed to continue operating the service, now known as VaNews, at no charge to the public; and
WHEREAS, Tom Whipple subsequently edited Peak Oil News, a publication for the Association of the Study of Peak Oil, and wrote a weekly column on energy issues for the Falls Church News-Press; in recognition of his expertise, he was selected as a fellow of the Post Carbon Institute; and
WHEREAS, outside of his career, Tom Whipple was a longtime volunteer for Arlington Democrats, earning a Distinguished Democrat award in 2021, and he helped the Democratic Party of Virginia upgrade its processes and procedures through the use of technology; and
WHEREAS, a man of many talents, Tom Whipple also maintained a lifelong love of boating and occasionally worked as a flight instructor and a co-pilot for a private charter air taxi service; his happiest days were spent at his family's vacation cottage in Ontario, Canada; and
WHEREAS, Tom Whipple enjoyed fellowship and worship with the Arlington community as a longtime member, trustee, and elder of the Church of the Covenant; and
WHEREAS, Tom Whipple will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his beloved wife of 64 years, Mary Margaret; his daughters, Beth and Margie, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Thomas S. Whipple, a respected member of the Arlington community who served the Commonwealth and the nation with the utmost integrity and distinction; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Thomas S. Whipple as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.