82S11347 BPG-D
By: Gonzales of Hidalgo H.R. No. 254
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Rio Grande Valley lost a revered civic leader
with the death of physician, educator, and civil rights pioneer Dr.
Ramiro Raul Casso on June 23, 2011, at the age of 88; and
WHEREAS, Born August 4, 1922, in the Buenos Aires colonia in
Laredo, Ramiro Casso was the son of Francisco and Josefa Casso; he
earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Texas
A&M University and immediately enlisted in the United States Army
Reserve; during World War II, he served his country as an
antiaircraft artillery captain; he then worked for two years in
Laredo as an engineer for the International Boundary and Water
Commission; and
WHEREAS, This dynamic Texan completed a second bachelor's
degree in chemistry at Baylor University in 1952 and went on to
graduate from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School;
following his internship at Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital in
San Antonio, he opened a private family medical practice in
McAllen; he frequently treated those who could not afford to pay
him, and he worked tirelessly to ensure that all in need could find
access to quality health care; in addition to operating a
charitable medical clinic for migrant workers, he assisted in the
founding of the Hidalgo County Health Care Corporation, and he
later helped found El Milagro Clinic and served for many years on
its board; and
WHEREAS, Dedicated to equal rights and justice, Dr. Casso was
a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and in
1948 he played a key role in the organization's Delgado v. Bastrop
ISD lawsuit, which concluded with the judge ordering the cessation
of the segregation of Hispanic public school children in Texas; he
vigorously supported the United Farm Workers union in its drive to
win workers' compensation and unemployment benefits for field
laborers and in its efforts to secure their right to know the
dangers of pesticides that they encountered in the course of their
employment; in the mid-1960s, he treated the injuries of workers
beaten during a strike, and his forceful statements against
brutality reached a national audience and changed the culture of
the Texas Rangers; he was appointed to the Texas Commission on Human
Rights in 1983 and served on the national board of the American
Civil Liberties Union; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Casso was a member of the Health Planning
Advisory Committee of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development
Council, and he became the first physician member of the board of
McAllen General Hospital; he served on the boards of McAllen
Methodist Hospital and McAllen Medical Center and participated in
two White House health conferences; as a member of the National
Advisory Board for Health-Care for the Aged under Social Security,
he helped build support for the implementation of Medicare; he was
appointed to the National Advisory Board for Health Research
Facilities of the National Institutes of Health and was twice
appointed to the Texas Board of Health; responding to a critical
need, he galvanized public support for the establishment of a
University of Texas Regional Academic Health Center in the Rio
Grande Valley, and he served on the adjunct faculty of the Texas A&M
University School of Rural Public Health as well; and
WHEREAS, In 1994, Dr. Casso retired from his medical
practice, but the following year, he accepted the task of
establishing the nursing program at South Texas College; he served
as the first director of the school's Nursing and Allied Health
Division and then became the college's vice president for
institutional advancement and raised millions of dollars for the
construction of the Nursing and Allied Health Center; moreover, he
co-founded the Valley Scholars Program at STC and forged agreements
with four-year institutions to grant scholarships to Valley
Scholars graduates; the college named the Dr. Ramiro R. Casso
Nursing and Allied Health Center in his honor; in 2002, he retired
for the second time at the age of 80; and
WHEREAS, Selfless in his concern for his fellow citizens, Dr.
Casso also served through the years on the boards of the McAllen
Independent School District, the McAllen Housing Authority, and the
Hidalgo County Housing Authority; his myriad accolades included the
Bishop Medeiros Golden Deeds Award, and in 1996 he was named Man of
the Year by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce; a 32nd degree Mason, he
was accorded his lodge's highest honor, the Golden Trowel Award, in
2003, and Latino Monthly selected him as one of 100 Outstanding
Hispanic Americans for the 20th Century; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ramiro Casso wielded tremendous influence in the
Rio Grande Valley and at the state and national levels, yet he
remained a humble, gentle man with a subtle sense of humor; his
tremendous contributions will continue to resonate widely in the
years to come, and although he will be deeply missed, his unyielding
devotion to education, health care, and social progress will
forever inspire those who were privileged to know this visionary
leader; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of
Dr. Ramiro Raul Casso and extend sincere sympathy to the members of
his family: to his wife of 62 years, Emma Laurel Casso; to his 5
children, Thelma Casso Morales and her husband, Pete, Lydia Casso
Tummel and her husband, Ken, Sylvia Casso, Daniel Casso and his
wife, Araceli, and David Casso and his wife, Vicki; to his 10
grandchildren; to his great-grandson; 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 Dr. Ramiro
Raul Casso.