Com. Sub. for H. C. R. 22
(By Delegate Pino)
[Originating in the Committee on Rules.]
Requesting the West Virginia Division of Highways to name a portion of WV Route 16 from the
northen city limits of the City of Mt. Hope continuing northerly to the intersection of WV
Route 16 and U.S. Route 19, Corridor L the "GENERAL C. SHIRLEY DONNELLY
MEMORIAL ROAD."
Whereas, C. Shirley Donnelly was born in Jackson County, West Virginia on February 2,
1895; and
Whereas, C. Shirley Donnelly was raised in frugal circumstance similar to most West
Virginians of the era; and
Whereas, C. Shirley Donnelly attended a one room school at Cedar Point until his family
moved to Charleston, West Virginia, where he graduated from Charleston High School in 1915; and
Whereas, C. Shirley Donnelly decided to go into the ministry at an early age and fulfilled
that desire by completing graduate work at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia; and
Whereas, Reverend C. Shirley Donnelly pastored at Oak Hill Baptist Church for
twenty-one years and at the Crab Orchard Baptist Church for twenty-five years after returning
from World War II; and
Whereas, During Reverend Donnelly's military service, he was Head Chaplain over six
hundred army chaplains of all faiths; and
Whereas, At the age of thirty-four, C. Shirley Donnelly was promoted to the rank of
Captain, fulfilling a goal he had set for himself as a youth, and eventually he was promoted to the
rank of full colonel; and
Whereas, During C. Shirley Donnelly's military service, he lived in seventeen countries on
four continents; and
Whereas, Colonel C. Shirley Donnelly was a friend and acquaintance of Colonel James H.
O?Neil, army chaplain, who was told by General Patton to do something to stop the rain which had
bogged down the efforts of Patton?s army, thus stirring Chaplain O?Neill to compose the famous
prayer printed on the back of General Patton?s Christmas card as Patton credited the prayer with
stopping the rain; and
Whereas, Colonel C. Shirley Donnelly was with General Patch in Augsburg, Germany when
the surrender note of Goering was placed in the General?s hand thus placing him in the archives of
history un-matched by any Fayette Countian of note; and
Whereas, After the war, C. Shirley Donnelly was promoted to the highest rank of General
as a Chaplain in the National Guard in the United States on his eighty-fifth birthday; and
Whereas, In his spare time, C. Shirley Donnelly delighted readers in West Virginia and
elsewhere by his prolific writings in book form and newspapers on a host of subjects and
experiences; and
Whereas, Jim Comstock noted historian and publisher, once remarked that Fayette County and all of West Virginia should be thankful that C. Shirley Donnelly preserved so much local and
state history; and
Whereas, C. Shirley Donnelly departed this life on August 31, 1982 and is interred at Blue
Ridge Memorial Gardens in Prosperity, West Virginia; and
Whereas, C. R. Hill chronicled the many achievements of C. Shirley Donnelly as Historian,
Minister, Soldier, Farmer and Banker in book form, giving clear and convincing evidence that the
contributions of C. Shirley Donnelly should not soon be forgotten; and
Whereas, Those contributions make C. Shirley Donnelly worthy and deserving of having
his name set before his fellow Fayette Countians and the motoring public, commemorating his
exemplary life in the hope that it might be emulated; and
Whereas, C. Shirley Donnelly frequently traveled over a portion of U.S. Route 16 as he
pastored at the Crab Orchard Baptist Church and as he wrote countless articles for the Beckley
newspaper; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the West Virginia Division of Highways is hereby requested to name the portion of WV
Route 16 from the northen city limits of the City of Mt. Hope continuing northerly to the intersection
of the WV Route 16 and U.S. Route 19, Corridor L the "GENERAL C. SHIRLEY DONNELLY
MEMORIAL ROAD."; and, be it
Further Resolved, That appropriate signage be erected at both ends of said Memorial Road
and that the Clerk of the House of Delegates is hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution
to the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Highways and the family of General C. Shirley Donnelly.