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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Lone Star State lost an esteemed citizen with |
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| 6 | 7 | | the passing of Nelda McQuien Laney of Hale Center on August 24, |
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| 7 | 8 | | 2016, at the age of 73; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, The daughter of Helen and John McQuien, the former |
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| 9 | 10 | | Nelda McQuien was born in Garza County on June 7, 1943; she |
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| 10 | 11 | | graduated from Plainview High School and went on to complete her |
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| 11 | 12 | | bachelor's degree in education with honors at Texas Tech |
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| 12 | 13 | | University, where she met her future husband, James E. "Pete" |
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| 13 | 14 | | Laney; the couple became the parents of four children, James, |
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| 14 | 15 | | KaLyn, Jamey, and J. Pete, and later welcomed into their family six |
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| 15 | 16 | | grandchildren, Austin, Grant, Gavin, and Holden Phillips and |
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| 16 | 17 | | Clayton and Kendall Laney; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Mrs. Laney taught in Hale Center schools, and as her |
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| 18 | 19 | | husband pursued a career in public life, she became a splendid |
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| 19 | 20 | | campaigner; during his long tenure in the Texas House of |
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| 20 | 21 | | Representatives, including five terms as speaker, Mrs. Laney |
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| 21 | 22 | | provided invaluable assistance, and she led the effort to restore |
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| 22 | 23 | | the State Capitol and served as vice chair of the Texas Capitol |
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| 23 | 24 | | Restoration Celebration and as co-chair of the Capitol Fund Drive, |
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| 24 | 25 | | which raised private money for furnishings; in order to sustain |
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| 25 | 26 | | continuing preservation efforts and related educational programs, |
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| 26 | 27 | | she created a series of collectible Texas Capitol holiday |
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| 27 | 28 | | ornaments, which became enormously successful, generating more |
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| 28 | 29 | | than $8 million to date; and |
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| 29 | 30 | | WHEREAS, In 2004, Mrs. Laney implemented a commemorative |
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| 30 | 31 | | ornament series for Keep Texas Beautiful, and for a dozen years, she |
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| 31 | 32 | | handled everything from the selection of themes to marketing and |
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| 32 | 33 | | public relations; she was the most successful salesperson for the |
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| 33 | 34 | | program and attended the organization's annual conferences each |
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| 34 | 35 | | summer in order to promote the project; along the way, she designed |
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| 35 | 36 | | ornaments for more than a dozen other entities across the state, |
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| 36 | 37 | | among them Texas Tech; and |
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| 37 | 38 | | WHEREAS, Mrs. Laney worked tirelessly in behalf of her alma |
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| 38 | 39 | | mater, serving as national president of the Texas Tech Alumni |
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| 39 | 40 | | Association and chairing the fund-raising committee for the $4.5 |
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| 40 | 41 | | million McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center expansion; in addition, she |
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| 41 | 42 | | served on the boards of the Texas Book Festival, the Friends of |
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| 42 | 43 | | Libraries and Archives of Texas, the National Center for Missing |
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| 43 | 44 | | and Exploited Children, and Greater Texas Community Partners, and |
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| 44 | 45 | | she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, the Omega Delphi Study Club, |
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| 45 | 46 | | the Caprock District Women's Club, and a host of other |
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| 46 | 47 | | organizations; and |
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| 47 | 48 | | WHEREAS, Widely admired for her vision and leadership, |
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| 48 | 49 | | Mrs. Laney won the affectionate nickname "the First Lady of West |
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| 49 | 50 | | Texas"; her work on the Capitol restoration earned a Star of Texas |
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| 50 | 51 | | Preservation Award and special recognition from the Texas Women's |
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| 51 | 52 | | Alliance; moreover, she was the recipient of the inaugural Woman of |
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| 52 | 53 | | Achievement Award from the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, and |
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| 53 | 54 | | she was selected as Woman of the Year in both Plainview and Hale |
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| 54 | 55 | | Center; in 2007, she and her husband received the Texas Tech Alumni |
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| 55 | 56 | | Association's Lauro F. Cavazos Award, and two years later, she was |
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| 56 | 57 | | named a Distinguished Alumna of the Texas Tech College of |
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| 57 | 58 | | Education; she was also inducted into the Future Homemakers of |
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| 58 | 59 | | America Texas Hall of Fame and was named a Lifetime Member of the |
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| 59 | 60 | | Girl Scouts; and |
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| 60 | 61 | | WHEREAS, While pursuing her many civic endeavors, Mrs. Laney |
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| 61 | 62 | | made time for her cherished family and many friends, and she was a |
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| 62 | 63 | | surrogate mother and grandmother to countless people; her warmth, |
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| 63 | 64 | | kindness, grace, and good humor brightened the days of everyone |
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| 64 | 65 | | around her; and |
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| 65 | 66 | | WHEREAS, Nelda Laney demonstrated her great love for Texas |
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| 66 | 67 | | and its people in myriad ways, and although she is deeply missed by |
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| 67 | 68 | | all who were privileged to share in her love and friendship, her |
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| 68 | 69 | | enormous contributions will continue to resonate for years to come; |
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| 69 | 70 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 70 | 71 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 71 | 72 | | Legislature hereby pay special tribute to the life of Nelda McQuien |
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| 72 | 73 | | Laney and extend profound condolences to her loved ones; and, be it |
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| 73 | 74 | | further |
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| 74 | 75 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 75 | 76 | | prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 76 | 77 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Nelda |
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| 77 | 78 | | Laney. |
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