As Adopted by the Republican National Committee

Republican National Committee

Counsel’s Office

RESOLUTION HONORING THE LIFE OF FLO CRISMAN NEHER TRAYWICK

WHEREAS, Flo Crisman Neher Traywick was a lifetime resident of Lynchburg, Virginia, born circa 1924, and married to the late Colonel Heber Benedict Traywick;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick began her college education in 1941 at Hollins College, left to raise her family, and returned to complete her education at Randolph Macon Women’s College, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in classical civilization in 1979;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in 1976, and in 1986, became the first woman in Virginia to be nominated by either party to run for the United States House of Representatives;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick was a prominent figure in Republican party politics from the 1970s onward;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick was elected four times by Virginia Republicans statewide to serve as Virginia's Republican National Committee (RNC) Committeewoman and rose to the position of vice-chairwoman of the RNC southern region;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick brought significant attention and campaign funds to Republican candidates in Virginia and was toasted by two governors, two United States senators, two congressmen, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates at a dinner held in her honor upon her retirement from the RNC;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick served as deputy commissioner of the Virginia Department for Aging under Governor Jim Gilmore, served on the Committee for the Refurbishment of the Executive Mansion under Governor John Dalton, and worked in the General Assembly offices of prominent Republicans, including former Speaker of the House of Delegates Vance Wilkins and former House of Delegates Majority Leader and now-Congressman Morgan Griffith;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick was appointed by both President George H. W. Bush and President George W. Bush to serve on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars and was privileged to be a frequent guest at the White House under three administrations;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick served on the boards of the Lynchburg Humane Society, the Academy of Music, the Lynchburg Symphony, Court Street Methodist Church, and the Lynchburg School of the Arts and made significant contributions to the work of those organizations;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick, in her 80s, established a successful new business, Flo's Bakery, which sold the famous mincemeat she made from her grandmother’s recipe to upscale restaurants in Virginia and, as a staunch Republican, remained frustrated that the crush of government regulations limited the growth of her company;

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick passed away in her beloved hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia on December 8, 2020 at the age of 96 and is survived by her children, H. V. Traywick Jr. of Richmond, Robin Bolling Traywick Williams (Charles) of Crozier, Virginia, and Crisman Neher Traywick (Jill) of Richmond, Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Traywick is also survived by her five grandchildren, Sarah Brack Traywick Smith (Logan) of Denver, Colorado, Joseph Grantham Traywick (Maggie) of Richmond, Virginia, Katherine Bolling Williams of Washington, District of Columbia, Riley Ellis Traywick LeVines (Gene) of Umatilla, Florida, and Crisman Neher Traywick Jr. of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina; as well as by her two great-grandchildren, Alice Noe Traywick and Robert Grantham Traywick; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the RNC recognizes the accomplishments and contributions that Mrs. Traywick has made to the nation, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Republican party, her community, and particularly to the animals whose welfare was her passion; and

RESOLVED, That the RNC extends to her family its sincerest sympathy and condolences on the passing of their loved one who lives on in the hearts of everyone whose lives she touched.