H.R. No. 431
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The passing of Harrison M. Sewell of Mesquite on
December 21, 2010, at the age of 85, brought to a close an exemplary
life lived in service to others; and
WHEREAS, Harry Sewell was born to Lee and Mary Jo Sewell on
May 4, 1925, in Nocona; he joined the U.S. Coast Guard following
high school, and during World War II he served on the destroyer
escort USS Howard D. Crow, which helped to sink a German submarine
off the New Jersey coast on February 11, 1945; after four years in
the coast guard, he was discharged with the rank of fire control
technician second class; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sewell and his beloved wife, the former Jimmie
Laverne Smith, became the parents of four children, Sheree, Harry,
Suzanne, and Kevin, and shared 61 rewarding years of marriage until
her passing in 2007; he had the pleasure of seeing his family grow
to include 5 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan attended Southwestern
Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie and spent more than two
decades evangelizing at churches and revivals throughout the
nation; in 1966, Harry Sewell answered the call to start a church in
North Texas, and, with his family and a few other worshipers, he
organized Family Cathedral of Praise in Pleasant Grove; located in
Mesquite since 1994, the church today is home to a diverse
congregation of about 2,000 individuals who support a charter
school and numerous ministries, including those for motorcyclists,
for the deaf, for Spanish speakers, and for the imprisoned; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Sewell, who eventually became pastor emeritus,
began churches in Africa and South America, and in 2006 the Harry M.
Sewell School of English was established by his admirers in
Valledupar, Colombia; a recent expansion is making English classes
available to students at five more schools in that nation; and
WHEREAS, Devoted to his faith and his family, Harry Sewell
had an immeasurable impact on the lives of countless people, and he
will be remembered with deep affection and admiration by all who
knew him; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Harrison M. Sewell
and extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his
children, Sheree Sewell Stacy, Harry Lee Sewell and his wife,
Debbie, and Suzanne Sewell Mayo and her husband, J. D.; to his
siblings, Dorothy Newman, Virginia "Ginger" Mitten, Donald Sewell,
and Sara Wisener; to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and
to his many 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 Harry
Sewell.
Flynn
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 431 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on March 3, 2011.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House