| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 1831 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, The untimely death of esteemed school administrator |
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| 6 | 6 | | Gloria Jean Gorham on April 19, 2009, at the age of 59, has deeply |
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| 7 | 7 | | saddened residents of Houston's Fifth Ward and beyond; and |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The youngest daughter born to Willis and Lillie |
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| 9 | 9 | | Walker, the former Gloria Jean Walker knew as a child growing up in |
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| 10 | 10 | | Austin that she wanted to be a teacher; she attended The University |
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| 11 | 11 | | of Texas at Austin, where she earned a bachelor's degree in |
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| 12 | 12 | | education and anthropology and a master's degree in education, and |
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| 13 | 13 | | subsequently began her career with the Houston Independent School |
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| 14 | 14 | | District in 1975; through the years, she taught at Hohl, Golfcrest, |
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| 15 | 15 | | and West University Elementary Schools and served briefly as an |
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| 16 | 16 | | assistant principal at Walnut Bend Elementary; in 1989, she became |
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| 17 | 17 | | the principal of Crawford Elementary School in the Fifth Ward; and |
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| 18 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Ms. Gorham soon earned the respect and admiration of |
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| 19 | 19 | | the Crawford community with her ever-present smile and dedication |
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| 20 | 20 | | to helping students succeed; exemplifying the school's motto, "Only |
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| 21 | 21 | | love is spoken here," she regularly hugged students, faculty, and |
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| 22 | 22 | | staff alike, and her optimism and guidance were instrumental in |
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| 23 | 23 | | Crawford achieving "Recognized" status by the Texas Education |
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| 24 | 24 | | Agency from 2006 through 2008; most recently, she was especially |
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| 25 | 25 | | proud of a dual-language program that the school had initiated to |
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| 26 | 26 | | allow students to learn in English and Spanish; and |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Although Gloria Gorham's passing has left a void in |
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| 28 | 28 | | the lives of her many friends and loved ones, memories of her joyful |
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| 29 | 29 | | nature, leadership, and commitment to education will continue to |
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| 30 | 30 | | inspire others for years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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| 31 | 31 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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| 32 | 32 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Gloria Jean Gorham and |
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| 33 | 33 | | extend sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to her |
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| 34 | 34 | | daughter, Lisa R. McBride; to her mother, Lillie Walker King; to her |
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| 35 | 35 | | fianc, Charles Bryant; to her sisters, Grace Howard and her |
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| 36 | 36 | | husband, James, Joyce Addison and her husband, Tobe, and Shirley |
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| 37 | 37 | | Walker; to her brother, Willie Lee Jones, and his wife, Annie; to |
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| 38 | 38 | | her uncles, Fred Jones and his wife, Betty, and Theodore Jones and |
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| 39 | 39 | | his wife, Lillie; and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it |
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| 40 | 40 | | further |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 42 | 42 | | prepared for the members of her family and that when the Texas House |
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| 43 | 43 | | of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Gloria |
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| 44 | 44 | | Jean Gorham. |
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| 45 | 45 | | Dutton |
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| 46 | 46 | | ______________________________ |
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| 47 | 47 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 48 | 48 | | I certify that H.R. No. 1831 was unanimously adopted by a |
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| 49 | 49 | | rising vote of the House on May 14, 2009. |
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| 50 | 50 | | ______________________________ |
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| 51 | 51 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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