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Texas Senate Bill SR428

Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SR428 Compare Versions

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1-SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 428
2- In Memory
3- of
4- Marie Flickinger
1+89R13738 KSM-D
2+ By: Middleton S.R. No. 428
3+
4+
5+
6+
7+ R E S O L U T I O N
58 WHEREAS, Residents of southeast Houston lost a beloved
69 community activist and civic leader with the passing of Marie
710 Flickinger on November 11, 2024, at the age of 82; and
8- WHEREAS, Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 1,
9- 1942, to Alexander and Mary Spence, the former Marie Spence grew
10- up with the companionship of two siblings, Morris and Alexis;
11- after graduating from high school, she exchanged wedding vows
12- with David Flickinger in 1962, and the pair went on to share in
13- the joy of raising two sons, Fred and David; her family later grew
14- to include three granddaughters, Kimberly, Courtney, and
15- Natalie, as well as seven great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson,
16- Penelope, Kelvin, Noah, Elliana, and Isabella; and
17- WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger and her husband resided in
18- Minnesota before relocating to the Houston area, where they
19- eventually settled in the Sagemont subdivision; in addition to
20- being a homemaker, she found her way into the journalism field
21- when she was recruited by an editor for the Friendswood News;
22- after gaining experience reporting on issues in the South
23- Belt/Ellington community and Pasadena ISD, she joined a friend,
24- Bobby Griffin, in co-founding the South Belt-Ellington Leader,
25- and she served the weekly newspaper as publisher until her
26- passing; and
11+ WHEREAS, Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 1, 1942,
12+ to Alexander and Mary Spence, the former Marie Spence grew up with
13+ the companionship of two siblings, Morris and Alexis; after
14+ graduating from high school, she exchanged wedding vows with David
15+ Flickinger in 1962, and the pair went on to share in the joy of
16+ raising two sons, Fred and David; her family later grew to include
17+ three granddaughters, Kimberly, Courtney, and Natalie, as well as
18+ seven great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, Penelope, Kelvin,
19+ Noah, Elliana, and Isabella; and
20+ WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger and her husband resided in Minnesota
21+ before relocating to the Houston area, where they eventually
22+ settled in the Sagemont subdivision; in addition to being a
23+ homemaker, she found her way into the journalism field when she was
24+ recruited by an editor for the Friendswood News; after gaining
25+ experience reporting on issues in the South Belt/Ellington
26+ community and Pasadena ISD, she joined a friend, Bobby Griffin, in
27+ co-founding the South Belt-Ellington Leader, and she served the
28+ weekly newspaper as publisher until her passing; and
2729 WHEREAS, Through the years, Mrs. Flickinger developed a
2830 reputation as a tireless advocate for her community, earning the
29- moniker "the mayor of South Belt"; although she covered hundreds
30- of news stories throughout her career, she was perhaps best known
31- for a series of investigative articles that exposed the dumping
32- of toxic waste at the Brio Superfund site in the 1980s, and her
33- central role in uncovering the scale of contamination in its
34- neighboring subdivision led to her being tapped to serve as the
35- Environmental Protection Agency's community liaison for the
36- site; for many years, she was also integral in securing
37- infrastructure improvements to mitigate flooding, including the
38- construction of the South Belt Stormwater Detention Basin; and
31+ moniker "the mayor of South Belt"; although she covered hundreds of
32+ news stories throughout her career, she was perhaps best known for a
33+ series of investigative articles that exposed the dumping of toxic
34+ waste at the Brio Superfund site in the 1980s, and her central role
35+ in uncovering the scale of contamination in its neighboring
36+ subdivision led to her being tapped to serve as the Environmental
37+ Protection Agency's community liaison for the site; for many years,
38+ she was also integral in securing infrastructure improvements to
39+ mitigate flooding, including the construction of the South Belt
40+ Stormwater Detention Basin; and
3941 WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Mrs. Flickinger had the
4042 distinction of being the first woman to be elected to the San
4143 Jacinto College Board of Trustees, where she served for nearly 30
4244 years before recently retiring as its chair; among her many
43- achievements, she was a founding member and inaugural president
44- of the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce, and she oversaw
45- the introduction of an Early College High School program in
46- Pasadena ISD, for which the district named her its Distinguished
47- Citizen of the Year in 2015; moreover, she was known for
48- organizing community events such as the annual Fourth of July
49- parade and Christmas drive for the needy, and she demonstrated
50- her strong Catholic faith as a parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini
51- Catholic Church and later as one of the founding members of St.
52- Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church; and
45+ achievements, she was a founding member and inaugural president of
46+ the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce, and she oversaw the
47+ introduction of an Early College High School program in Pasadena
48+ ISD, for which the district named her its Distinguished Citizen of
49+ the Year in 2015; moreover, she was known for organizing community
50+ events such as the annual Fourth of July parade and Christmas drive
51+ for the needy, and she demonstrated her strong Catholic faith as a
52+ parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church and later as one
53+ of the founding members of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church;
54+ and
5355 WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger was inducted into the Hall of Honor
54- at Dobie High School in 2015 and received the M. Dale Ensign
55- Trustee Leadership Award from the Association of Community College
56- Trustees in 2013; she was also recognized by Governor Greg Abbott
57- with the Governor's Volunteer Award for her role in coordinating
58- emergency relief efforts during Hurricane Harvey; and
56+ at Dobie High School in 2015 and received the M. Dale Ensign Trustee
57+ Leadership Award from the Association of Community College Trustees
58+ in 2013; she was also recognized by Governor Greg Abbott with the
59+ Governor's Volunteer Award for her role in coordinating emergency
60+ relief efforts during Hurricane Harvey; and
5961 WHEREAS, Through her widespread civic contributions, Marie
60- Flickinger had a profound and positive impact on her community,
61- and those she leaves behind will continue to find inspiration in
62- their memories of this extraordinary woman; now, therefore, be it
63- RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 89th
64- Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the life of Marie Flickinger
65- and extend deepest sympathy to the members of her family: to
66- her husband, David Flickinger; to her sons, Fred Flickinger and
67- his wife, Leslie, and David Flickinger and his wife, Ellie; to
68- her granddaughters, Kimberly Lipina and her husband, Matthew,
69- Courtney Durham, and Natalie Abarca and her husband, Jose; to
70- her great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, and Penelope
71- Durham, Kelvin Lopez, Noah and Elliana Abarca, and Isabella
72- Delgado and her husband, Sebastian; to her siblings, Morris
73- Spence and Alexis Lochner; and to her other relatives and
74- friends; and, be it further
62+ Flickinger had a profound and positive impact on her community, and
63+ those she leaves behind will continue to find inspiration in their
64+ memories of this extraordinary woman; now, therefore, be it
65+ RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature
66+ hereby pay tribute to the life of Marie Flickinger and extend
67+ deepest sympathy to the members of her family: to her husband, David
68+ Flickinger; to her sons, Fred Flickinger and his wife, Leslie, and
69+ David Flickinger and his wife, Ellie; to her granddaughters,
70+ Kimberly Lipina and her husband, Matthew, Courtney Durham, and
71+ Natalie Abarca and her husband, Jose; to her great-grandchildren,
72+ Abigail, Jackson, and Penelope Durham, Kelvin Lopez, Noah and
73+ Elliana Abarca, and Isabella Delgado and her husband, Sebastian; to
74+ her siblings, Morris Spence and Alexis Lochner; and to her other
75+ relatives and friends; and, be it further
7576 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
76- prepared for her family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns
77- this day, it do so in memory of Marie Flickinger.
78- Middleton
79- Alvarado Hagenbuch Menéndez Alvarado Hagenbuch Menéndez
80-Alvarado Hagenbuch Menéndez
81- Bettencourt Hall Miles Bettencourt Hall Miles
82-Bettencourt Hall Miles
83- Birdwell Hancock Nichols Birdwell Hancock Nichols
84-Birdwell Hancock Nichols
85- Blanco Hinojosa of Hidalgo Parker Blanco Hinojosa of Hidalgo Parker
86-Blanco Hinojosa of Hidalgo Parker
87- Campbell Hinojosa of Nueces Paxton Campbell Hinojosa of Nueces Paxton
88-Campbell Hinojosa of Nueces Paxton
89- Cook Huffman Perry Cook Huffman Perry
90-Cook Huffman Perry
91- Creighton Hughes Schwertner Creighton Hughes Schwertner
92-Creighton Hughes Schwertner
93- Eckhardt Johnson Sparks Eckhardt Johnson Sparks
94-Eckhardt Johnson Sparks
95- Flores King West Flores King West
96-Flores King West
97- Gutierrez Kolkhorst Zaffirini Gutierrez Kolkhorst Zaffirini
98-Gutierrez Kolkhorst Zaffirini
99- Patrick, President of the Senate
100- ________________________________
101- President of the Senate
102- I hereby certify that the
103- above Resolution was adopted by
104- the Senate on April 23, 2025, by a
105- rising vote.
106- ________________________________
107- Secretary of the Senate
108- ________________________________
109- Member, Texas Senate
110-
111-
112-
113-Alvarado Hagenbuch Menéndez
114-
115-
116-
117-Bettencourt Hall Miles
118-
119-
120-
121-Birdwell Hancock Nichols
122-
123-
124-
125-Blanco Hinojosa of Hidalgo Parker
126-
127-
128-
129-Campbell Hinojosa of Nueces Paxton
130-
131-
132-
133-Cook Huffman Perry
134-
135-
136-
137-Creighton Hughes Schwertner
138-
139-
140-
141-Eckhardt Johnson Sparks
142-
143-
144-
145-Flores King West
146-
147-
148-
149-Gutierrez Kolkhorst Zaffirini
77+ prepared for her family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this
78+ day, it do so in memory of Marie Flickinger.