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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, A rich and purposeful life has drawn to a close with |
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| 6 | 7 | | the death of veteran newspaperman Joseph James Miller of White Deer |
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| 7 | 8 | | on April 27, 2015, at the age of 89; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Joe Miller was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, to |
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| 9 | 10 | | Charles and Era Miller on January 26, 1926; he started in the |
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| 10 | 11 | | newspaper business at the age of eight as a newsboy hawking the |
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| 11 | 12 | | Oklahoma News, and when he turned 14, he went to work for the |
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| 12 | 13 | | Chickasha Daily Express, delivering newspapers and working as a |
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| 13 | 14 | | "printer's devil," melting lead for type and learning to operate |
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| 14 | 15 | | the Linotype machines; after passing the Typographical Union test, |
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| 15 | 16 | | he became a journeyman printer; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, Answering his nation's call to duty during World War |
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| 17 | 18 | | II, Mr. Miller entered the U.S. Army in April 1944 as a member of |
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| 18 | 19 | | Company G, 63rd Division, 6th Infantry Division, known as the Red |
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| 19 | 20 | | Star Doughboys; with the 6th Division, he took part in the battle |
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| 20 | 21 | | with the retreating Japanese near Kiangan in the Philippines in |
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| 21 | 22 | | June 1945, which resulted in the surrender of General Yamashita, |
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| 22 | 23 | | the supreme Japanese commander in the Philippines; this action |
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| 23 | 24 | | earned Mr. Miller's division a Presidential Citation, and his other |
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| 24 | 25 | | decorations included the Good Conduct Medal, the American Theatre |
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| 25 | 26 | | Ribbon, the Victory Ribbon, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, the |
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| 26 | 27 | | Combat Infantry Badge, and the Rifle Sharp Shooter Badge; after the |
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| 27 | 28 | | surrender of the Japanese, he served for a time in Korea; and |
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| 28 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Returning to civilian life in Chickasha, Mr. Miller |
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| 29 | 30 | | resumed his newspaper career, working as a production foreman and a |
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| 30 | 31 | | composing room foreman for the Daily Express; in 1951, he was joined |
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| 31 | 32 | | in matrimony to Melva Jean Howard, and they shared their lives for |
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| 32 | 33 | | 64 years, until his death; together they were the parents of 3 |
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| 33 | 34 | | children, Phillip, Teri, and Rodney, and later in life, they were |
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| 34 | 35 | | blessed with 5 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; and |
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| 35 | 36 | | WHEREAS, In 1961, Mr. Miller fulfilled his dream of owning |
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| 36 | 37 | | and operating his own newspaper when he and his wife purchased the |
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| 37 | 38 | | White Deer News and moved their family to Texas; he purchased the |
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| 38 | 39 | | Panhandle Herald in 1971 and converted both papers from linotype to |
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| 39 | 40 | | the compugraphic system, eventually shifting to computer desktop |
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| 40 | 41 | | publishing; in an effort to lower printing costs, he later joined |
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| 41 | 42 | | with other area publishers to become a shareholder in the Palo Duro |
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| 42 | 43 | | Offset Printing Press, which served as the printer for a number of |
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| 43 | 44 | | papers; he was inducted into the Panhandle Press Hall of Fame in |
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| 44 | 45 | | 1999, and in 2009 he sold his newspapers to new owners and retired; |
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| 45 | 46 | | and |
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| 46 | 47 | | WHEREAS, For more than half a century, Joe Miller took a |
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| 47 | 48 | | leading role in helping the residents of the Panhandle stay |
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| 48 | 49 | | informed about their region and the world around them, and he leaves |
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| 49 | 50 | | behind a legacy of service to his community and his nation that will |
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| 50 | 51 | | continue to inspire all those who knew and loved him; now, |
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| 51 | 52 | | therefore, be it |
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| 52 | 53 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 53 | 54 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Joseph James Miller |
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| 54 | 55 | | and extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his |
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| 55 | 56 | | wife, Jean Miller; to his children, Phillip Miller and his wife, |
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| 56 | 57 | | Ruthie, Teri Stewart and her husband, Dalton, and Rodney Miller and |
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| 57 | 58 | | Debra Duffy; to his grandchildren, Matt Miller, Marc Miller, Ryan |
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| 58 | 59 | | Stewart, Tosya Stewart, and Holly Miller; to his |
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| 59 | 60 | | great-grandchildren, Cheyenne and Riley Miller, Peyton McCarthy, |
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| 60 | 61 | | Addie and Mason Miller, Landon and Grant Stewart, and Koulter, |
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| 61 | 62 | | Sutton, and Bowen Kidd; and to his other relatives and friends; and, |
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| 62 | 63 | | be it further |
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| 63 | 64 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 64 | 65 | | prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 65 | 66 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Joseph |
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| 66 | 67 | | James Miller. |
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