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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 life of meaningful service drew to a close with the |
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| 6 | 7 | | death of former state representative Tony James Goolsby of Dallas |
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| 7 | 8 | | on September 4, 2020, at the age of 86; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, Born on November 9, 1933, Tony Goolsby was raised by |
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| 9 | 10 | | Thelma and Herman Ross in Longview, and he grew up with two |
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| 10 | 11 | | siblings, Eddie and Marsha; answering his nation's call to duty, he |
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| 11 | 12 | | served in the U.S. Army, and he went on to earn a bachelor's degree |
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| 12 | 13 | | in education from the University of North Texas, where he was a |
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| 13 | 14 | | member of the Theta Chi fraternity; he worked as a teacher, coach, |
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| 14 | 15 | | principal, and pharmaceutical sales representative until he |
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| 15 | 16 | | started an insurance agency in the 1980s, running it for more than |
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| 16 | 17 | | two decades; he served as president of the Independent Insurance |
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| 17 | 18 | | Agents of Dallas, as head of political actions for the Independent |
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| 18 | 19 | | Insurance Agents of Texas, and as a board member of Pavillion Bank; |
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| 19 | 20 | | and |
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| 20 | 21 | | WHEREAS, In 1988, Mr. Goolsby was elected to the Texas House |
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| 21 | 22 | | of Representatives, and he served the citizens of North Dallas and |
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| 22 | 23 | | Richardson for 20 years; a leader in the house, he was a strong |
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| 23 | 24 | | supporter of efforts to protect victims of sexual assault, extend |
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| 24 | 25 | | the reach of Amber Alerts, protect consumers from unwanted |
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| 25 | 26 | | solicitations, make identity theft a state crime, cut taxes on |
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| 26 | 27 | | small businesses, and make higher education more accessible, |
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| 27 | 28 | | including allowing senior citizens to audit college courses at no |
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| 28 | 29 | | cost; known for signing everything in a shade of ink that came to be |
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| 29 | 30 | | known as "Goolsby green," he served as chair of the House |
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| 30 | 31 | | Administration Committee and as vice chair of the Higher Education |
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| 31 | 32 | | Committee; dedicated to making sure the house ran smoothly and that |
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| 32 | 33 | | everyone was treated fairly, he made many friends during his |
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| 33 | 34 | | tenure, and a number of items from his personal collection remain on |
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| 34 | 35 | | view at the Legislative Reference Library; and |
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| 35 | 36 | | WHEREAS, Representative Goolsby's many honors over the |
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| 36 | 37 | | course of his career included recognition and awards from the |
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| 37 | 38 | | Dallas Police Association, North Texas State University, Longview |
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| 38 | 39 | | High School, the Texas Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Realtors |
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| 39 | 40 | | Association, and the Texas Pediatric Society; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, Following his service in the legislature, |
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| 41 | 42 | | Mr. Goolsby enjoyed a successful career as a lobbyist; he remained |
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| 42 | 43 | | close to his former legislative staffers, often sharing a meal to |
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| 43 | 44 | | offer advice and discuss the latest Capitol news, and he maintained |
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| 44 | 45 | | a warm friendship with former speaker of the house Pete Laney until |
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| 45 | 46 | | the end of his life; and |
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| 46 | 47 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Goolsby was a member of Lovers Lane United |
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| 47 | 48 | | Methodist Church for more than a half century, and he was serving as |
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| 48 | 49 | | an usher one Sunday morning when he met Toppy Tannery, who was late |
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| 49 | 50 | | for church; they were married in 1971 and shared a loving |
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| 50 | 51 | | relationship that spanned nearly five decades; they delighted in |
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| 51 | 52 | | traveling together to national parks, taking riverboat cruises in |
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| 52 | 53 | | Europe, spending Thanksgiving in Hawaii, and visiting their |
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| 53 | 54 | | granddaughters in California; in 2001, they dedicated the Goolsby |
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| 54 | 55 | | Chapel at the University of North Texas, and they also established |
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| 55 | 56 | | the Toppy and Tony Goolsby Family Trust Rangerette Scholarship at |
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| 56 | 57 | | Kilgore College; and |
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| 57 | 58 | | WHEREAS, Witty, warm, and generous, Tony Goolsby was a |
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| 58 | 59 | | devoted family man and a distinguished public servant, and his loss |
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| 59 | 60 | | is keenly felt by the numerous friends he made through the years and |
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| 60 | 61 | | by the countless people in Texas whose lives were made better by his |
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| 61 | 62 | | many achievements; now, therefore, be it |
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| 62 | 63 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 63 | 64 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of the Honorable Tony |
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| 64 | 65 | | James Goolsby and extend heartfelt sympathy to the members of his |
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| 65 | 66 | | family: to his wife, Toppy Goolsby; to his children, Mellie Mathis |
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| 66 | 67 | | and her husband, Chris Duncan, Cherrie Wysong and her husband, Jay, |
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| 67 | 68 | | and Brooke Welch and her husband, Sean; to his grandchildren, |
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| 68 | 69 | | Delaney and Riley Welch; to his sister, Marsha Ross; and to his |
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| 69 | 70 | | other relatives and many friends; and, be it further |
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| 70 | 71 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 71 | 72 | | prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 72 | 73 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Tony |
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| 73 | 74 | | Goolsby. |
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