H.R. No. 2293
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Helen Araujo Sierra of El Paso is commemorating her
90th birthday on June 4, 2009, and this memorable milestone is truly
worthy of special recognition; and
WHEREAS, Born on that date in 1919 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the
former Elena Araujo was the 11th and youngest child of Jose Salvador
Araujo and Cruz Melendez; she spent the first decade of her life in
Tulsa, but after the tuberculosis epidemic of the 1920s took the
lives of four of her siblings, the family moved to Albuquerque for
its arid climate; she attended the Third Ward School, where she
skipped two grades because of her advanced reading and writing
skills, and Washington Junior High and subsequently went to work to
help support her family; and
WHEREAS, She relocated with her family to El Paso in the early
1940s and went to work as a ticket clerk at the Greyhound Bus
Station; it was there that she met her future husband, Pablo Edmundo
"Eddie" Sierra, who served as the manager of the Knox Hotel and who
had recently returned from service in World War II; the Sierras were
married on April 8, 1948, at Holy Family Church, and were later
blessed with three children, Christine, Edmund, and Theresa; Mr.
Sierra became the owner and manager of the hotel gift shop, while
Mrs. Sierra was a devoted homemaker and mother; the couple shared
more than 43 years together before Mr. Sierra's death in 1991; and
WHEREAS, Still residing in her own home, Mrs. Sierra today is
the treasured matriarch of a family that has grown to include three
granddaughters, Paloma, Andrea, and Cassandra; moreover, she
remains an avid reader and corresponds regularly with family and
friends; and
WHEREAS, Helen Sierra is beloved and admired by all who are
privileged to know her, and she may indeed reflect with pride on her
nine decades of life well lived; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Helen Araujo Sierra on the occasion
of her 90th birthday and extend to her best wishes for continued
happiness; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mrs. Sierra as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.
Dutton
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2293 was adopted by the House on May
25, 2009, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House