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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Fort Worth lost a distinguished |
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community leader with the death of former city councilperson Clyde |
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Wendell Picht on January 1, 2021, at the age of 87; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Salt Lake City, Clyde Picht earned a |
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bachelor's degree in forest management from Utah State University, |
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where he was also a member of the ROTC; after working for the U.S. |
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Forest Service as a firefighter and manager, he joined the U.S. Air |
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Force and served for 22 years, including a combat tour as a pilot in |
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Vietnam, where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with two |
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oak leaf clusters and the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters; |
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he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring in 1978; |
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returning to civilian life, he trained flight crews for American |
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Airlines for nearly two decades, including the crew of Air Force |
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One; he retired in 1996; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1997, Mr. Picht was elected to the Fort Worth |
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City Council by only 10 votes, earning the ironic nickname |
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"Landslide Clyde"; he served until 2005, winning the respect and |
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admiration of his constituents and his colleagues for his |
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dedication and thorough attention to detail; he ensured that every |
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constituent call or letter was attended to, and he read massive city |
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council binders straight through on the weekend before council |
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meetings; and |
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WHEREAS, Earlier in his life, Mr. Picht served as president, |
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vice president, and treasurer of the Wedgwood East Neighborhood |
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Association, and in retirement, he volunteered with the Salvation |
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Army Adult Rehabilitation Center, the B-36 Peacemaker Museum, the |
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Texas National Cemetery Foundation, and Friends of Texas Health |
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Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1955, while still an ROTC student at Utah State |
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University, he went into the hospital for minor surgery and met a |
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nurse named Emeline Trujillo, and he claimed to be in more pain than |
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he actually was so that she would spend more time with him; they |
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married six months later and went on to share 65 years together |
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until her death in 2020; they were the parents of four children and |
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later welcomed three grandchildren into their family; all their |
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lives, she called him by his middle name, Wendell, and he called her |
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Tru, for her maiden name, Trujillo; and |
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WHEREAS, A dynamic man with a keen intellect, Clyde Picht |
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lived a rich and purposeful life devoted to his family, his |
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community, and his nation, and he leaves behind a record of service |
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that his loved ones can remember with pride; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Clyde Wendell Picht |
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and extend heartfelt sympathy to his relatives and many friends; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Clyde |
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Picht. |