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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Dallas lost an admired civic leader |
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with the passing of Trinidad Perales Garza on November 30, 2023, at |
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the age of 92; and |
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WHEREAS, Born to Gabriel and Carmen Garza on September 22, |
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1931, Trini Garza grew up in Floresville; the untimely deaths of his |
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parents left him to care for three younger siblings as a teenager; |
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while working in San Antonio, he attended night school and joined |
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the U.S. Navy Reserve; he was called to active duty during the |
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Korean War and received the National Defense Service Medal; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Garza resumed his education in San Antonio, |
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where he met his future wife, Benilde Mendoza; after completing his |
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bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at Texas A&M |
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University, he began working for LTV Corporation in Dallas; he and |
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Mrs. Garza opened Ranchero Restaurant in the early 1970s and |
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introduced the wider public to fajitas as pioneering Latino |
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concessionaires at the State Fair of Texas; in 2023, the family |
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celebrated 40 years at the fair, where they now operate multiple |
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stands; Mrs. Garza passed away in 2014; and |
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WHEREAS, A champion of education and his community, Mr. Garza |
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became the first Hispanic trustee of the Dallas Independent School |
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District in 1969; he was a member of the Tri-Ethnic Committee |
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overseeing desegregation and served on the board again from 1991 |
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until 1994, when he was appointed deputy regional director of the |
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U.S. Department of Education; in 2010, DISD named the Trinidad |
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"Trini" Garza Early College High School at Mountain View in his |
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honor; Mr. Garza served his community in numerous other roles as |
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well, including as regional director of the ACTION federal agency; |
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an advocate for greater representation on city and county boards |
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and commissions, he organized the city's first Mexican American |
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Leadership Conference and mentored the next generation of Hispanic |
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leaders; he further benefited his fellow citizens as director of La |
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Voz del Anciano, as chair of the Dallas Commission on Aging, as a |
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founding member of the board of Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and as |
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president of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; |
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sustained by a strong faith, he was very active in the United |
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Methodist Church; and |
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WHEREAS, Although Trini Garza's death has brought great |
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sorrow to those who loved him, his life was an inspiring example of |
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the good that one person can accomplish; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature, 4th Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory |
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of Trini Garza and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his |
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family: to his children, Jerome Garza and his wife, Paula, Norma |
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Garza, Bernice Robledo and her husband, Richard, and Denise Garza |
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De La Cruz and her husband, Juan; to his 12 grandchildren, 16 |
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great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren; and to his |
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many other relatives and friends; 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 Trini |
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Garza. |