HomeMy WebLinkAbout20-202RESOLUTION NO. 20-202
A RESOLUTION HONORING ST. LUCIE COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF, CAPTAIN PATRICK N. DUVAL,
WHO PASSED AWAY JULY 31, 2020 IN ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, has made the
following determinations:
1. Patrick N. Duvall was the first African -American Deputy Sheriff of St. Lucie County. He
was a grocery store worker in Fort Pierce, Florida when he decided to become a deputy
based on the crime happening in his Lincoln Park Community. He became Deputy Duval
in 1954 when St. Lucie County Sheriff J.R. Norvell hired him.
2. Captain Duval retired in 1985, having risen to the rank of Captain and heading the Sheriff's
Office's Detective Division. Duval, also a World War II Veteran, was 100 years old when
he died on July 31, 2020.
3. Duval was known for his professionalism and his sense of fairness as a Deputy Sheriff. He
also played an important role in preserving the legacy of African -American author,
intellectual, sociologist and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), one of the key
figures of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s. Ms. Hurston spent the final years of her
life in Fort Pierce, the county seat of St. Lucie County, where she and Duval became
friends. She suffered a debilitating stroke in 1959 and died the following year. She was
buried in Fort Pierce. The day after she died, her landlord threw her possessions and
papers into a heap and set them on fire. Duval, who was passing by the home, put out the
fire and rescued most of the papers, which were donated to the University of Florida and
became part of the permanent collection of her literary documents.
4. In recognition of Duval's contribution to the people of St. Lucie County and the St. Lucie
County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Ken J. Mascara on Nov.1, 2003, dedicated the north -county
Sheriff's Office substation in honor of Duval, naming it the "Captain Pat N. Duval
Community Substation."
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County,
Florida, does hereby honor Deputy Sheriff, Captain Patrick N. Duval for his many years of faithful
and dedicated service to St. Lucie County, Florida.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 1st day of September 2020.
ATTEST:
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FF-L-O_RI.D�A� �f
BY: U `��u�N4�"`y�C
Chair l
APPROVED AS ITO FORM ANI)kO.RRECTNESS
BY:
County Attorn