88S40847 BPG-D
By: Davis H.R. No. 105
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Residents of Dallas lost an admired civic leader
with the passing of Trinidad Perales Garza on November 30, 2023, at
the age of 92; and
WHEREAS, Born to Gabriel and Carmen Garza on September 22,
1931, Trini Garza grew up in Floresville; the untimely deaths of his
parents left him to care for three younger siblings as a teenager;
while working in San Antonio, he attended night school and joined
the U.S. Navy Reserve; he was called to active duty during the
Korean War and received the National Defense Service Medal; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Garza resumed his education in San Antonio,
where he met his future wife, Benilde Mendoza; after completing his
bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at Texas A&M
University, he began working for LTV Corporation in Dallas; he and
Mrs. Garza opened Ranchero Restaurant in the early 1970s and
introduced the wider public to fajitas as pioneering Latino
concessionaires at the State Fair of Texas; in 2023, the family
celebrated 40 years at the fair, where they now operate multiple
stands; Mrs. Garza passed away in 2014; and
WHEREAS, A champion of education and his community, Mr. Garza
became the first Hispanic trustee of the Dallas Independent School
District in 1969; he was a member of the Tri-Ethnic Committee
overseeing desegregation and served on the board again from 1991
until 1994, when he was appointed deputy regional director of the
U.S. Department of Education; in 2010, DISD named the Trinidad
"Trini" Garza Early College High School at Mountain View in his
honor; Mr. Garza served his community in numerous other roles as
well, including as regional director of the ACTION federal agency;
an advocate for greater representation on city and county boards
and commissions, he organized the city's first Mexican American
Leadership Conference and mentored the next generation of Hispanic
leaders; he further benefited his fellow citizens as director of La
Voz del Anciano, as chair of the Dallas Commission on Aging, as a
founding member of the board of Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and as
president of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce;
sustained by a strong faith, he was very active in the United
Methodist Church; and
WHEREAS, Although Trini Garza's death has brought great
sorrow to those who loved him, his life was an inspiring example of
the good that one person can accomplish; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory
of Trini Garza and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his
family: to his children, Jerome Garza and his wife, Paula, Norma
Garza, Bernice Robledo and her husband, Richard, and Denise Garza
De La Cruz and her husband, Juan; to his 12 grandchildren, 16
great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren; and to his
many other relatives and friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Trini
Garza.