89R17673 DSH-D
By: Morales of Maverick H.R. No. 494
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Residents of Del Rio lost two longtime civil
servants with the passing of George Joe Harrington on
December 16, 2024, and William Rattay Jr. on December 17, 2024; and
WHEREAS, Joe Harrington was born in Del Rio on
December 15, 1955, and he began his tenure with the city in 1974
when he joined the Del Rio Volunteer Fire Department; he was hired
on as a full-time employee of the Del Rio Fire Department in 1977,
and he earned his firefighter basic certification the following
year; named the DRFD Paid Firefighter of the Year in 1984, 1991, and
1996, he was awarded the department's medal of honor for his actions
during a citywide flood in 1998; he was promoted to assistant chief
in 2006, and he served in the positions of operations chief,
training chief, and assistant to the emergency management
coordinator; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, Mr. Harrington was appointed deputy chief,
and he became task force leader over agricultural rescue,
automobile extrication, and trench rescue for the Annual Municipal
Texas Fire Training School; he took over the department as fire
chief in 2017 and served in that role until his retirement in 2021,
which drew to a close a career that spanned nearly four and a half
decades; he is survived by his life partner of 25 years, Marta
Rodriguez; and
WHEREAS, Bill Rattay was born on June 21, 1959, in Lancaster,
Ohio, and he began his law enforcement career with the Del Rio
Police Department in 1982; he was promoted to sergeant in 1996 and
reassigned to detective sergeant in 1999; he achieved the rank of
lieutenant and then captain in 2007, and he served in all of the
department's major divisions; after retiring from the DRPD in 2013,
he worked for the Val Verde County Sheriff's Office for a year and a
half; and
WHEREAS, In 2015, Mr. Rattay was reappointed DRPD lieutenant,
and he was promoted to captain of the criminal investigations
division the following year; he retired from the department a
second time in 2021, after nearly four decades of dedicated
service; at the time of his death, he was working as an investigator
for the Val Verde County Attorney's Office; he is survived by his
wife of 30 years, Tamara Harper Rattay, and his sons, William and
Steven Rattay; and
WHEREAS, Joe Harrington and Bill Rattay exemplified the
highest ideals of public service, and they leave behind a legacy
that will continue to inspire all those who knew and loved them;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of George Joe
Harrington and William Rattay Jr. and extend heartfelt sympathy to
all who mourn their passing; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
for their families and that when the Texas House of Representatives
adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Joe Harrington and Bill
Rattay.