Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HR127 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.R. No. 127
	1	+	85R7143 JGH-D
	2	+	By: Davis of Harris H.R. No. 127
2	3
3	4
4	5		R E S O L U T I O N
5	6		WHEREAS, The life of a distinguished, world-renowned heart
6	7		surgeon drew to a close with the death of Dr. Denton Cooley of
7	8		Houston on November 18, 2016, at the age of 96; and
8	9		WHEREAS, Denton Arthur Cooley was born in Houston on August
9	10		22, 1920, to Mary and Ralph Cooley; he graduated from San Jacinto
10	11		High School and attended The University of Texas on a basketball
11	12		scholarship, competing on the team that won the Southwest
12	13		Conference championship in 1939; and
13	14		WHEREAS, After earning a degree in zoology in 1941,
14	15		Dr. Cooley began his medical training at The University of Texas
15	16		Medical Branch at Galveston and completed it at the Johns Hopkins
16	17		University School of Medicine in Baltimore, where he graduated with
17	18		highest honors in 1944; from 1946 to 1948, he served as a military
18	19		doctor in Linz, Austria, before returning to Baltimore; there he
19	20		met his future wife, a surgical nurse named Louise Thomas, and they
20	21		were married in 1949; the couple shared 67 years together, until her
21	22		death in October 2016, just one month before his; and
22	23		WHEREAS, Dr. Cooley completed his surgical residency under
23	24		Dr. Alfred Blalock, whom he assisted during the first "blue-baby"
24	25		operation; he went on to work at the Brompton Hospital in London,
25	26		taking part in the first intracardiac operations in England;
26	27		Dr. Cooley then returned to Houston, and for 18 years, he served as
27	28		a professor of surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine; in 1962,
28	29		he founded the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal
29	30		Hospital, and he was surgeon-in-chief there for more than four
30	31		decades, performing operations until he was 87 years old and
31	32		continuing to make rounds until the final year of his life; and
32	33		WHEREAS, Dr. Cooley greatly contributed to the development
33	34		of groundbreaking heart and cardiovascular surgical techniques,
34	35		including a method of reducing the need for blood transfusions
35	36		during open-heart surgeries as well as procedures for the repair
36	37		and replacement of heart valves and the treatment of cardiac
37	38		anomalies in children; in 1968, he performed the first successful
38	39		human heart transplant in the United States, and in 1969, he became
39	40		the first to implant an artificial heart in a human being; over the
40	41		years, he took part in some 120,000 open-heart surgeries; and
41	42		WHEREAS, Among his peers, Dr. Cooley was greatly admired for
42	43		his speed, dexterity, and grace under pressure; after watching him
43	44		operate, the great South African heart surgeon Dr. Christiaan
44	45		Barnard wrote, "It was the most beautiful surgery I had ever seen";
45	46		Dr. Cooley authored more than 1,400 scientific papers and 12 books,
46	47		including 100,000 Hearts: A Surgeon's Memoir, and he was an
47	48		influential mentor to countless younger surgeons, some of whom went
48	49		on to found the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society;
49	50		and
50	51		WHEREAS, Dr. Cooley was recognized with honorary degrees
51	52		from many American and foreign universities and with prestigious
52	53		awards from surgical societies around the world; among the
53	54		facilities that bear his name are the student fitness center at
54	55		Johns Hopkins, the animal hospital at the Houston Zoo, the UT
55	56		basketball pavilion and student center, and a building at the UT
56	57		School of Dentistry at Houston; moreover, he received the Theodore
57	58		Roosevelt Award from the National Collegiate Athletic Association,
58	59		the National Medal of Technology from President Bill Clinton, and
59	60		the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, from
60	61		President Ronald Reagan; and
61	62		WHEREAS, A man of boundless energy and good humor, Dr. Cooley
62	63		delighted in the time he spent with his family at his Cool Acres
63	64		Ranch along the Brazos River, his water-ski shack on the San Jacinto
64	65		River, and his "CooleyBunkport" beach house in Galveston; he was
65	66		the proud father of five daughters, Mary Craddock, Susan Cooley,
66	67		Louise Davis, Helen Fraser, and the late Florence Talbot Cooley,
67	68		and his life was further enriched by his 16 grandchildren and 16
68	69		great-grandchildren; and
69	70		WHEREAS, Over the course of a long and extraordinary career,
70	71		Denton Cooley dedicated himself to pioneering techniques that have
71	72		saved countless lives in operating theaters around the world, and
72	73		his passion, commitment, and innovation will continue to inspire
73	74		generations of surgeons who will remain forever in his debt; now,
74	75		therefore, be it
75	76		RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
76	77		Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Dr. Denton Cooley
77	78		and extend sincere sympathy to his family and many friends; and, be
78	79		it further
79	80		RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
80	81		prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
81	82		Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Dr. Denton
82	83		Cooley.
83		-	Davis of Harris
84		-	______________________________
85		-	Speaker of the House
86		-	I certify that H.R. No. 127 was unanimously adopted by a
87		-	rising vote of the House on February 23, 2017.
88		-	______________________________
89		-	Chief Clerk of the House