By Hamric                                       H.C.R. No. 56

      75R4393 BNL-D                           

                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 1-1           WHEREAS, Texans, and indeed all Americans, join in mourning

 1-2     the untimely passing of Pam Lychner on July 17, 1996, at the age of

 1-3     37, for her remarkable courage and spirit touched the lives of all

 1-4     who had the privilege of knowing her; and

 1-5           WHEREAS, Born Pamela Sue Rogers in Aurora, Illinois, she

 1-6     nurtured close relationships with her two sisters, and together

 1-7     they marked the many happy triumphs and minor mishaps of a typical

 1-8     small-town childhood; her first experience with the darker elements

 1-9     of society occurred at the tender of age of 16, when she was robbed

1-10     while working as a grocery store checker, but this experience only

1-11     served to strengthen the young woman's empathy and concern for

1-12     those around her; and

1-13           WHEREAS, During the difficult days of the Vietnam War,

1-14     Ms. Lychner expressed this compassion by wearing a POW-MIA bracelet

1-15     in silent tribute to an American serviceman; she never forgot the

1-16     name inscribed on the bracelet, and long after the war had ended,

1-17     she continued to keep the bracelet's documentation, for she was

1-18     determined to keep her promise of honoring the memory of a soldier

1-19     she had never met; and

1-20           WHEREAS, In 1984, while working as a flight attendant for

1-21     Trans World Airlines, she married Joe Lychner, and they were

1-22     blessed with two beautiful daughters, Shannon Evian and Katherine

1-23     Elizabeth; Ms. Lychner was a caring and devoted mother to the

1-24     girls, and in furthering her own education at the local community

 2-1     college, she instilled in them a love of learning that immeasurably

 2-2     brightened their young lives; and

 2-3           WHEREAS, Her idyllic life was marred when, in 1990, she

 2-4     became the victim of a violent assault, and once again, she

 2-5     struggled to rise above the emotional fallout of crime; as

 2-6     Ms. Lychner recovered from her trauma, she became painfully aware

 2-7     of flaws in the criminal justice system, and she gathered her

 2-8     formidable will to set about righting those wrongs; victimized

 2-9     twice in her life by individuals, she refused to be victimized by

2-10     the system that was supposed to protect her, and her unwillingness

2-11     to yield to an indifferent bureaucracy laid the foundation for

2-12     Justice For All, a criminal justice reform organization; and

2-13           WHEREAS, Under Ms. Lychner's committed leadership, Justice

2-14     For All grew to a national organization with more than 3,000

2-15     members, and together they worked successfully to reform the

2-16     appeals process, reduce automatic probation, and eliminate

2-17     mandatory release, thus ensuring that criminals would serve longer

2-18     sentences and face stricter review before returning to society; a

2-19     knowledgeable and compelling spokesperson, Ms. Lychner was

2-20     frequently called on by the national media to articulate the

2-21     perspective of crime victims, and her genuine concern for the

2-22     people she represented enabled her to become an effective advocate

2-23     for meaningful change; and

2-24           WHEREAS, Pam Lychner was forever guided by the principle that

2-25     one person can have a profound impact on the world around her, and

2-26     her life is a testament to that simple creed; she was taken from

2-27     this world all too soon, but her unique spirit will live on in the

 3-1     hearts of all the people whose lives she touched, and the people of

 3-2     Texas stand pledged to keeping her memory and her work alive; now,

 3-3     therefore, be it

 3-4           RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas

 3-5     hereby honor the life of Pamela Sue Rogers Lychner and extend

 3-6     deepest sympathy to the members of her family: to her beloved

 3-7     husband, Joe Lychner; to her parents, Wayne and Betty Rogers; to

 3-8     her sisters, Lori Musselman and Jan Brenkus; and to all the

 3-9     relatives, colleagues, and many friends of this exceptional woman;

3-10     and, be it further

3-11           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

3-12     prepared for the members of her family and that when the Texas

3-13     House of Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in

3-14     memory of Pam Lychner.