Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick (R,C-Smithtown) honored U.S. Navy retiree Mrs. Virginia Elliot Jacques at a Women Veterans Recognition Day ceremony held June 14 at the Capitol to honor female veterans from throughout the state.

"It is a great honor to recognize Mrs. Jacques, her efforts and the efforts of all women veterans," said Assemblyman Fitzpatrick. "Her sense of duty, hearing the call to serve, is a small part of a life spent serving the greater good of the community."

Mrs. Jacques joined the Navy in 1944 and spent the next nine years at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Va., where she was assigned to supply and accounting. She left the service in 1953 but remained in the Navy Reserves until 1957.

Mrs. Jacques received a bachelor’s degree in history from Hunter College and earned her master’s degree from New York University’s School of Education.

She began her teaching career in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn and spent the next 20 years in the classroom. After retiring from teaching, Mrs. Jacques went into educational administration, spending 12 years as assistant superintendent of the South Huntington School District.

Mrs. Jacques has received recognition for chairing the WWII Monument Commission in Suffolk County and volunteering for the advisory committee of the Long Island State Veterans Home. She is a member of the New York State Retired Teachers and Administrators Association and the New York State Chapter of the WWII Veterans Administration, and she is active in her local parish.