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| 6 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Edna Belle Pemberton passed away on April 13, 2025, |
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| 8 | 9 | | at the age of 81, leaving her family, friends, and neighbors to |
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| 9 | 10 | | reflect on her remarkable life and her many years of dedicated |
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| 10 | 11 | | service to Dallas's Oak Cliff community; and |
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| 11 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 27, 1944, Edna |
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| 12 | 13 | | Pemberton grew up as the youngest of nine children; she married the |
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| 13 | 14 | | love of her life, DarNell Pemberton, on September 19, 1964, and |
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| 14 | 15 | | together, they raised four daughters, Edna Jean, Rita, Lisa, and |
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| 15 | 16 | | Myra; the couple later relocated to Richmond, California, and |
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| 16 | 17 | | adopted eight nieces and nephews, becoming a family of 14; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Mrs. Pemberton was employed as a manager at Kmart, |
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| 18 | 19 | | and she continued her career with the company after moving with her |
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| 19 | 20 | | family to Dallas, where she made her home in the Oak Cliff |
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| 20 | 21 | | neighborhood and became highly involved in civic life; through |
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| 21 | 22 | | Kmart, she initiated a number of school supply programs; she also |
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| 22 | 23 | | advocated for her employees by collaborating with the City of |
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| 23 | 24 | | Dallas and DART to establish Route 66, a bus line serving residents |
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| 24 | 25 | | of Oak Cliff; and |
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| 25 | 26 | | WHEREAS, Over the years, Mrs. Pemberton benefited numerous |
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| 26 | 27 | | people by organizing clothing giveaways for flood survivors, |
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| 27 | 28 | | establishing a citywide homeless program called Bridge Over |
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| 28 | 29 | | Troubled Water alongside her husband, and successfully campaigning |
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| 29 | 30 | | for a juvenile curfew ordinance to keep youth off the streets and |
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| 30 | 31 | | away from criminal activities; she was an active supporter of |
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| 31 | 32 | | several youth programs at Concord Church, and in the aftermath of |
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| 32 | 33 | | Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she organized members of her church and |
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| 33 | 34 | | coordinated with various agencies to help provide relief to |
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| 34 | 35 | | evacuees; in recognition of her efforts, FEMA offered her a job as a |
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| 35 | 36 | | volunteer liaison and credited her with aiding approximately 84,000 |
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| 36 | 37 | | people, many of whom subsequently relocated to Dallas; and |
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| 37 | 38 | | WHEREAS, Mrs. Pemberton found time to serve other |
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| 38 | 39 | | organizations as well, among them Friends of Red Bird Airport, Camp |
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| 39 | 40 | | Wisdom Now, Operation Community Care, and Parkland Hospital; she |
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| 40 | 41 | | also held membership on the boards of the Martin Luther King Center |
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| 41 | 42 | | in South Dallas and the Dallas NAACP, which named a community award |
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| 42 | 43 | | in honor of her and her husband; together with Mr. Pemberton, she |
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| 43 | 44 | | established the group Positively Oak Cliff to help strengthen the |
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| 44 | 45 | | local economy and introduce valuable initiatives such as an |
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| 45 | 46 | | aviation education program for young teens at Red Bird Airport and |
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| 46 | 47 | | youth etiquette programs at Red Bird Mall; and |
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| 47 | 48 | | WHEREAS, In the later years of her life, Mrs. Pemberton was |
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| 48 | 49 | | deeply invested in maintaining and revitalizing Red Bird Mall, and |
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| 49 | 50 | | she was appointed by Mayor Tom Leppert to act as a liaison between |
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| 50 | 51 | | the mall's tenants and the City of Dallas as community officials |
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| 51 | 52 | | sought to save it from closure; she further volunteered her time as |
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| 52 | 53 | | a voter registrar and precinct chair, and in addition to receiving |
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| 53 | 54 | | several governor's awards, she had the distinction of carrying the |
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| 54 | 55 | | Olympic torch through Dallas in 1996; and |
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| 55 | 56 | | WHEREAS, Edna Pemberton was a woman of great compassion and |
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| 56 | 57 | | generosity who dedicated much of her life to serving the needs of |
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| 57 | 58 | | her community, and although she will be profoundly missed, her |
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| 58 | 59 | | legacy will live on in the hearts of the countless people touched by |
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| 59 | 60 | | her many good works; now, therefore, be it |
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| 60 | 61 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 61 | 62 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Edna Belle |
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| 62 | 63 | | Pemberton and extend sincere sympathy to all those who mourn her |
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| 63 | 64 | | passing; and, be it further |
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| 64 | 65 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 65 | 66 | | prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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| 66 | 67 | | Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Edna |
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| 67 | 68 | | Pemberton. |
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