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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 full and productive life drew to a close with the |
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| 6 | 7 | | passing of John Elihue Codwell Jr. on August 14, 2017; and |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, The only child of educators Vera Codwell and John |
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| 8 | 9 | | Elihue Codwell Sr., John Codwell was born in the Fourth Ward in |
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| 9 | 10 | | Houston in 1933 and moved to the Fifth Ward when he was in |
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| 10 | 11 | | elementary school; he attended Phillis Wheatley High School and |
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| 11 | 12 | | graduated third in the Class of 1950, with both academic and |
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| 12 | 13 | | athletic honors; seeking opportunities not available in |
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| 13 | 14 | | segregation-era Texas, he chose to enroll in his father's alma |
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| 14 | 15 | | mater, the University of Michigan, where he earned three varsity |
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| 15 | 16 | | letters; he became the school's first African American basketball |
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| 16 | 17 | | player when he made the freshman team, and he went on to play at the |
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| 17 | 18 | | varsity level and made the All-Big Ten team as an honorable mention; |
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| 18 | 19 | | a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, he was commissioned |
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| 19 | 20 | | as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force after |
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| 20 | 21 | | graduation; he served at Ellington Air Force Base as a navigator and |
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| 21 | 22 | | instructor and attained the rank of first lieutenant; and |
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| 22 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Codwell earned his master's degree from Wayne |
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| 23 | 24 | | State University, and he was employed by the Detroit school |
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| 24 | 25 | | district for 27 years; he rose to become superintendent of support |
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| 25 | 26 | | services with responsibility for managing the district's security |
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| 26 | 27 | | forces, student busing services, and lunch and food services |
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| 27 | 28 | | program; following his retirement from the district, he joined the |
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| 28 | 29 | | municipal government, and he was appointed executive director of |
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| 29 | 30 | | the Detroit Public Housing Authority; he was inducted into Sigma Pi |
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| 30 | 31 | | Phi, which honors accomplished African American college graduates |
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| 31 | 32 | | and professionals, and he belonged to Iota Boulé in Detroit and |
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| 32 | 33 | | later Nu Boulé in Houston; in 2013, he was inducted as a Phillis |
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| 33 | 34 | | Wheatley High School Alumni Wall of Fame honoree; and |
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| 34 | 35 | | WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Codwell shared a |
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| 35 | 36 | | fulfilling marriage with Evelyn Bernette Reid Codwell that spanned |
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| 36 | 37 | | nearly three decades before her passing in 1985; he took great pride |
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| 37 | 38 | | in his two children, Carolyn Elaine Codwell and John Elihue Codwell |
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| 38 | 39 | | III, and his three grandchildren, Austin, Reid, and John; and |
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| 39 | 40 | | WHEREAS, While the death of John Codwell Jr. brings great |
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| 40 | 41 | | sadness to his family and friends, he leaves behind a legacy that |
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| 41 | 42 | | will long be treasured by all those who held him dear; now, |
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| 42 | 43 | | therefore, be it |
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| 43 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 44 | 45 | | Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of |
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| 45 | 46 | | John E. Codwell Jr. and extend sincere sympathy to his loved ones; |
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| 46 | 47 | | and, be it further |
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| 47 | 48 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 48 | 49 | | prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 49 | 50 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of John E. |
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| 50 | 51 | | Codwell Jr. |
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