81R20374 BPG-D
By: Castro H.R. No. 1384
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The death of civic leader Fay Sinkin on March 4,
2009, at the age of 90, has deeply saddened her family, her friends,
and her many admirers throughout the San Antonio community and
beyond; and
WHEREAS, Born in New York City on March 24, 1918, the former
Fay Bloom graduated from Syracuse University; she was working at an
Arthur Murray Dance Studio when a friend from Texas set her up on a
blind date with a young San Antonio businessman named Bill Sinkin;
although she made a joke when he proposed marriage partway through
the evening, the couple exchanged wedding vows less than six months
later, on May 31, 1942; and
WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Sinkin raised their two sons in San
Antonio and supported each other in myriad efforts to improve the
quality of life in their city; Mrs. Sinkin was particularly
concerned about public health, and on becoming president of the
League of Women Voters in 1947, she advocated for the hiring of a
city sanitary engineer to develop a sewer system; moreover, she
raised funds for the first citywide Mothers March on Polio,
organized the Visiting Nurse Association, and later became the
first woman to serve on the city's Board of Health; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, Mrs. Sinkin was named Woman of the Year by
the San Antonio Express-News; her many early accomplishments
included fund-raising for public television and becoming one of the
first two women to serve on a grand jury in Bexar County; she
participated in vital endeavors to further tolerance and diversity,
organizing educational outreaches, working with her husband to end
segregation in restaurants, and assisting the Johnson
administration in the recruitment of minority candidates for the
diplomatic service; and
WHEREAS, The threat of heavy development over the Edwards
Aquifer recharge zone in the early 1970s led Mrs. Sinkin to form the
Aquifer Protection Association, and she roused the community to
fight the first of many battles to ensure the safety and quality of
San Antonio's water supply; she was instrumental in obtaining the
nation's first Sole Source Aquifer designation under the Safe
Drinking Water Act of 1974, and she won election as the first female
board member of the Edwards Underground Water District; during her
six-year term, she successfully fought the controversial
Applewhite Reservoir project, advocated for conservation and a
regional water plan, introduced xeriscaping to the city, and
oversaw the institution of a water leak detection program; she
later formed the Edwards Aquifer Preservation Trust and pushed to
block overdevelopment on the recharge zone by acquiring ranchland,
playing a key role in the creation of Government Canyon State
Natural Area on 7,000 acres once slated for a vast housing tract;
and
WHEREAS, Acknowledged as "the mother of aquifer protection,"
Mrs. Sinkin continued to devote her time and considerable energy to
this cause, working with the grassroots Smart Growth Coalition in
2002 to oppose construction of a PGA Village over the Edwards
Aquifer in north central Bexar County; as gracious and persuasive
as she was passionate, she helped the Save Our Aquifer Campaign
secure more than 100,000 signatures to call for a referendum
against the project; together, the Sinkins established the Fay and
William Sinkin Environmental Fund, which educates young people
about environmental issues; and
WHEREAS, Her remarkable achievements earned Mrs. Sinkin
numerous accolades; she was inducted into the San Antonio Women's
Celebration and Hall of Fame and received the Headline Award from
Women in Communication; the Medallion Natural Area was renamed the
Fay and William Sinkin Nature Preserve in 2009, and The University
of Texas at San Antonio maintains the William and Fay Sinkin Papers
in its archives, documenting the importance of their individual and
joint contributions to civic life; and
WHEREAS, Ahead of her time in many ways, Fay Sinkin served as
a steward of the environment and an advocate for social justice; her
endeavors immeasurably enhanced the world around her, and she
inspired countless others to work for the causes in which they
believe and promote positive change; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Fay Sinkin and extend
sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to her husband of 66
years, William Sinkin; to her sons, Richard and Lanny; to her
granddaughters, Patti Leigh, Katherine Hancock, and Amelia Sinkin;
to her three great-grandchildren, Justin and Jessica Hancock and
Jennifer Leigh; and to the other relatives and host of friends of
this esteemed Texan; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Fay Sinkin.