Tim Kaine: “I rise today to talk about some friends of mine. Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison. Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison, my…”

“I rise today to talk about some friends of mine. Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison. Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison, my across-the-street neighbor for nearly 30 years, died of COVID last Thursday night at 6 o'clock. Roxie has been kind of the matriarch and the pillar of our little four-block-long neighborhood. We have the annual party in the median in October, and Roxie kind of presides. She has been sort of the caretaker, always taking care of a family member or a friend. One of the first persons who reached out to me when Roxie passed was a city councilman in Pasadena, CA, who had heard instantaneously. He used to be the deputy police chief in Richmond. He said: When I moved to Richmond, I didn't know anybody. Roxie was the one who kind of adopted me and showed me the ropes in Richmond. Roxie was a pioneer in Virginia government, making opportunities for African Americans to get hired in key positions--a civil rights leader in the State. My wife and I and our whole neighborhood are just absolutely devastated by the loss. My wife and I were talking about: How old do you think Roxie is? We always viewed her as sort of our age because she is so vigorous and fun and lively. She is 20 years older than my wife and me. Three days before Roxie Raines Kornegay Allison died, another neighbor of mine, Sheila Mandt, who was 55 years old, died of COVID.…”