89R24594 AMB-D
By: Paul H.R. No. 870
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Residents of southeast Houston lost a beloved
community activist and civic leader with the passing of Marie
Flickinger on November 11, 2024, at the age of 82; and
WHEREAS, Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 1, 1942,
to Alexander and Mary Spence, the former Marie Spence grew up with
the companionship of two siblings, Morris and Alexis; after
graduating from high school, she exchanged wedding vows with David
Flickinger in 1962, and the pair went on to share in the joy of
raising two sons, Fred and David; her family later grew to include
three granddaughters, Kimberly, Courtney, and Natalie, as well as
seven great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, Penelope, Kelvin,
Noah, Elliana, and Isabella; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger and her husband resided in Minnesota
before relocating to the Houston area, where they eventually
settled in the Sagemont subdivision; in addition to being a
homemaker, she found her way into the journalism field when she was
recruited by an editor for the Friendswood News; after gaining
experience reporting on issues in the South Belt/Ellington
community and Pasadena ISD, she joined a friend, Bobby Griffin, in
co-founding the South Belt-Ellington Leader, and she served the
weekly newspaper as publisher until her passing; and
WHEREAS, Through the years, Mrs. Flickinger developed a
reputation as a tireless advocate for her community, earning the
moniker "the mayor of South Belt"; although she covered hundreds of
news stories throughout her career, she was perhaps best known for a
series of investigative articles that exposed the dumping of toxic
waste at the Brio Superfund site in the 1980s, and her central role
in uncovering the scale of contamination in its neighboring
subdivision led to her being tapped to serve as the Environmental
Protection Agency's community liaison for the site; for many years,
she was also integral in securing infrastructure improvements to
mitigate flooding, including the construction of the South Belt
Stormwater Detention Basin; and
WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Mrs. Flickinger had the
distinction of being the first woman to be elected to the San
Jacinto College Board of Trustees, where she served for nearly 30
years before recently retiring as its chair; among her many
achievements, she was a founding member and inaugural president of
the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce, and she oversaw the
introduction of an Early College High School program in Pasadena
ISD, for which the district named her its Distinguished Citizen of
the Year in 2015; moreover, she was known for organizing community
events such as the annual Fourth of July parade and Christmas drive
for the needy, and she demonstrated her strong Catholic faith as a
parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church and later as one
of the founding members of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church;
and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger was inducted into the Hall of Honor
at Dobie High School in 2015 and received the M. Dale Ensign Trustee
Leadership Award from the Association of Community College Trustees
in 2013; she was also recognized by Governor Greg Abbott with the
Governor's Volunteer Award for her role in coordinating emergency
relief efforts during Hurricane Harvey; and
WHEREAS, Through her widespread civic contributions, Marie
Flickinger had a profound and positive impact on her community, and
those she leaves behind will continue to find inspiration in their
memories of this extraordinary woman; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Marie Flickinger and
extend deepest sympathy to the members of her family: to her
husband, David Flickinger; to her sons, Fred Flickinger and his
wife, Leslie, and David Flickinger and his wife, Ellie; to her
granddaughters, Kimberly Lipina and her husband, Matthew, Courtney
Durham, and Natalie Abarca and her husband, Jose; to her
great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, and Penelope Durham, Kelvin
Lopez, Noah and Elliana Abarca, and Isabella Delgado and her
husband, Sebastian; to her siblings, Morris Spence and Alexis
Lochner; and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Marie
Flickinger.