Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HR870 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R24594 AMB-D
2	2	By: Paul H.R. No. 870
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	R E S O L U T I O N
8	8	WHEREAS, Residents of southeast Houston lost a beloved
9	9	community activist and civic leader with the passing of Marie
10	10	Flickinger on November 11, 2024, at the age of 82; and
11	11	WHEREAS, Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 1, 1942,
12	12	to Alexander and Mary Spence, the former Marie Spence grew up with
13	13	the companionship of two siblings, Morris and Alexis; after
14	14	graduating from high school, she exchanged wedding vows with David
15	15	Flickinger in 1962, and the pair went on to share in the joy of
16	16	raising two sons, Fred and David; her family later grew to include
17	17	three granddaughters, Kimberly, Courtney, and Natalie, as well as
18	18	seven great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, Penelope, Kelvin,
19	19	Noah, Elliana, and Isabella; and
20	20	WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger and her husband resided in Minnesota
21	21	before relocating to the Houston area, where they eventually
22	22	settled in the Sagemont subdivision; in addition to being a
23	23	homemaker, she found her way into the journalism field when she was
24	24	recruited by an editor for the Friendswood News; after gaining
25	25	experience reporting on issues in the South Belt/Ellington
26	26	community and Pasadena ISD, she joined a friend, Bobby Griffin, in
27	27	co-founding the South Belt-Ellington Leader, and she served the
28	28	weekly newspaper as publisher until her passing; and
29	29	WHEREAS, Through the years, Mrs. Flickinger developed a
30	30	reputation as a tireless advocate for her community, earning the
31	31	moniker "the mayor of South Belt"; although she covered hundreds of
32	32	news stories throughout her career, she was perhaps best known for a
33	33	series of investigative articles that exposed the dumping of toxic
34	34	waste at the Brio Superfund site in the 1980s, and her central role
35	35	in uncovering the scale of contamination in its neighboring
36	36	subdivision led to her being tapped to serve as the Environmental
37	37	Protection Agency's community liaison for the site; for many years,
38	38	she was also integral in securing infrastructure improvements to
39	39	mitigate flooding, including the construction of the South Belt
40	40	Stormwater Detention Basin; and
41	41	WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Mrs. Flickinger had the
42	42	distinction of being the first woman to be elected to the San
43	43	Jacinto College Board of Trustees, where she served for nearly 30
44	44	years before recently retiring as its chair; among her many
45	45	achievements, she was a founding member and inaugural president of
46	46	the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce, and she oversaw the
47	47	introduction of an Early College High School program in Pasadena
48	48	ISD, for which the district named her its Distinguished Citizen of
49	49	the Year in 2015; moreover, she was known for organizing community
50	50	events such as the annual Fourth of July parade and Christmas drive
51	51	for the needy, and she demonstrated her strong Catholic faith as a
52	52	parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church and later as one
53	53	of the founding members of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church;
54	54	and
55	55	WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger was inducted into the Hall of Honor
56	56	at Dobie High School in 2015 and received the M. Dale Ensign Trustee
57	57	Leadership Award from the Association of Community College Trustees
58	58	in 2013; she was also recognized by Governor Greg Abbott with the
59	59	Governor's Volunteer Award for her role in coordinating emergency
60	60	relief efforts during Hurricane Harvey; and
61	61	WHEREAS, Through her widespread civic contributions, Marie
62	62	Flickinger had a profound and positive impact on her community, and
63	63	those she leaves behind will continue to find inspiration in their
64	64	memories of this extraordinary woman; now, therefore, be it
65	65	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
66	66	Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Marie Flickinger and
67	67	extend deepest sympathy to the members of her family: to her
68	68	husband, David Flickinger; to her sons, Fred Flickinger and his
69	69	wife, Leslie, and David Flickinger and his wife, Ellie; to her
70	70	granddaughters, Kimberly Lipina and her husband, Matthew, Courtney
71	71	Durham, and Natalie Abarca and her husband, Jose; to her
72	72	great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, and Penelope Durham, Kelvin
73	73	Lopez, Noah and Elliana Abarca, and Isabella Delgado and her
74	74	husband, Sebastian; to her siblings, Morris Spence and Alexis
75	75	Lochner; and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it further
76	76	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
77	77	prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of
78	78	Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Marie
79	79	Flickinger.