H.R. No. 881
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of
accomplished community leader and civil rights pioneer Quentin R.
Mease of Houston, who died on February 24, 2009, at the age of 100;
and
WHEREAS, Quentin Ronald Mease was born on October 25, 1908,
in Buxton, Iowa, the son of a coal miner and a seamstress; he moved
to Des Moines with his family in 1920, graduating from West High
School in 1924 and from Des Moines University in 1928; and
WHEREAS, Following in the footsteps of his father, who was a
labor leader, Mr. Mease took an active part in his community even as
a young man; he was executive director of the local YMCA at the age
of 19, as well as a member of the NAACP, the Negro Chamber of
Commerce, and the Interracial Commission; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, Mr. Mease served his nation
with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific, where he rose to the
rank of captain; a decorated veteran, he went on to earn a master's
degree in social work administration from George Williams College
in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Moving to Houston in 1948 to take a job as the
executive director of the Bagby Street YMCA, Mr. Mease was soon
recognized as one of the most dynamic young African American
leaders in the city, helping to establish the South Central YMCA in
the Third Ward; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Mease played a vital role in the peaceful
desegregation of Houston, permitting student civil rights
activists to use the YMCA as a base of operations; he was also
instrumental in the creation of the Houston Area Urban League, the
Eliza Johnson Home, and the Houston Council on Human Relations; and
WHEREAS, Appointed to the first governing board of the Harris
County Hospital District in 1965, he became chair in 1971 and served
for 19 years; during that time, the district opened 11 community
health clinics, built two hospitals, and improved the pay of
medical workers; the Quentin Mease Community Hospital was named in
recognition of his enormous contribution to health care in Houston;
and
WHEREAS, A principled man of great vision and integrity,
Quentin Mease dedicated his life to the ideal of social justice and
to the betterment of his community, and his legacy will continue to
be an inspiration to all who knew and admired him; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Quentin R. Mease and
extend sincere condolences to his daughter, Barbara Ranson, and to
his other relatives and friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Quentin R.
Mease.
Edwards
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 881 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on March 26, 2009.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House