By Counts                                            H.C.R. No. 165

         75R8680 JHS-D                           

                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 1-1           WHEREAS, The passing of Marion Rice Zetzman on November 7,

 1-2     1996, at the age of 57, has brought a great loss to the family and

 1-3     many friends of this commendable man and to the people of the State

 1-4     of Texas; and

 1-5           WHEREAS, A leader in the establishment of public health

 1-6     policy in Texas, Dr. Zetzman was a native of Roscoe, a rural Texas

 1-7     town of 1,400 people; he received his undergraduate degree from

 1-8     Hardin-Simmons University and earned his master's degree in public

 1-9     health from Tulane University; and

1-10           WHEREAS, This distinguished gentleman began a long and

1-11     productive career in public health in 1962 as a public health

1-12     advisor at the United States Public Health Service's Centers for

1-13     Disease Control, and he later worked as a public health sanitarian

1-14     in the Sweetwater-Nolan County Health Department; Dr. Zetzman never

1-15     forgot his heritage and committed himself to improving health care

1-16     services for the citizens of Roscoe and other rural Texas regions;

1-17     and

1-18           WHEREAS, In 1972, The University of Texas Health Science

1-19     Center in Houston bestowed on him a doctorate in public health;

1-20     that same year, he was named associate director of the Governor's

1-21     Office of Comprehensive Health Planning by Governor Preston Smith;

1-22     and

1-23           WHEREAS, Dr. Zetzman began a 23-year association with The

1-24     University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas in 1973

 2-1     when he accepted a position as an assistant professor, and he

 2-2     served as chairman of that institution's Division of Community

 2-3     Medicine and Epidemiology for 20 years; and

 2-4           WHEREAS, From 1984 to 1990 he served as chairman of the

 2-5     Statewide Health Coordinating Council, to which he was appointed by

 2-6     governors Mark White and William P. Clements; in addition, Dr.

 2-7     Zetzman was wholly involved in the 1989 development of the Center

 2-8     for Rural Health Initiatives, and he envisioned this program as a

 2-9     vital component for addressing the health needs of three million

2-10     rural Texans; and

2-11           WHEREAS, Both Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock and former

2-12     Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby appointed him to the Executive

2-13     Committee of the Center for Rural Health Initiatives, which he

2-14     chaired from its creation until the time of his death; and

2-15           WHEREAS, A 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, Dr. Zetzman was a

2-16     fellow of the American Public Health Association and sat on that

2-17     body's governing board; he also served as a member of the editorial

2-18     board of the Texas Journal of Rural Health, as chairman of The

2-19     University of Texas System Telemedicine Committee, and as health

2-20     policy consultant to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor

2-21     for Health Affairs of The University of Texas System in Austin; and

2-22           WHEREAS, Marion Rice Zetzman was a man of great energy and

2-23     vision who left an indelible mark on the state he was proud to call

2-24     home, and although his guidance and devotion will be missed by all

2-25     who knew him, his spirit will no doubt endure in the hearts and

2-26     minds of those individuals whose lives he touched; now, therefore,

2-27     be it

 3-1           RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas

 3-2     hereby pay tribute to the life of Dr. Marion Rice Zetzman and

 3-3     extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his

 3-4     beloved wife, Sara Pratt Zetzman; to his son, Phillip Marion

 3-5     Zetzman; and to the many other relatives and friends of this

 3-6     esteemed man; and, be it further

 3-7           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

 3-8     prepared for the members of his family and that when the Texas

 3-9     House of Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in

3-10     memory of Dr. Marion Rice Zetzman.