H.R. No. 97
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The passing of John F. "Dude" Callender on August
22, 2003, at the age of 84, has brought a great loss to his family
and many friends; and
WHEREAS, Born on July 24, 1919, in Bedias, he later attended
Texas A&M University for one year before being offered a job by
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in Houston, beginning a
successful career that spanned more than 60 years; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Callender served his country during World War II
as a member of a combat engineering battalion in the Third Army; at
the end of his military service, he resumed his career with
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and worked with the company for
14 years in Rosenberg; and
WHEREAS, In 1954, he joined the Fort Bend Telephone Company
as plant superintendent and ultimately became president and chief
executive officer; retiring in 1999, he changed careers to become a
public relations officer for Southwest Bank in Katy; and
WHEREAS, Active in civic endeavors, he was an organizer of
the Rosenberg/Richmond area, Katy, and Needville chambers of
commerce, and was active with Optimist International, the 100 Club
of Fort Bend County, the United States Telephone Association, and
the Texas Chapter of the Independent Telephone Pioneer Association;
Mr. Callender was instrumental in bringing Little League to the
Rosenberg/Richmond area and coached for many years; further, he
served as a USA Goodwill Ambassador in a People to People Tour of
Russia in 1976, and helped establish the initial telecommunications
engineering technological training that was the first degreed
course in telephone technology offered by Texas A&M University; and
WHEREAS, His many honors include being named an outstanding
citizen by the Rosenberg/Richmond Area Chamber of Commerce and
Optimist International, and receiving the prestigious Neville
Haynes Award from the Texas Telephone Association; and
WHEREAS, Those who were privileged to know Dude Callender
will long miss his delightful sense of humor, his honesty and
courage, and his deep commitment to his loved ones, and he will
surely be remembered with great affection for many years to come;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of
John F. "Dude" Callender and extend sincere sympathy to his wife of
nearly 61 years, Thelma Kennelly Callender; to his daughter and
son-in-law, Connie and Colonel G. C. Lindsay; to his son and
daughter-in-law, Katy Mayor Doyle Callender and Kay Callender; to
his grandchildren, Cambrey Dori Lindsay, Kyle Jenkins Callender,
and John Kennelly Callender; and to his other relatives and
friends; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of John F.
"Dude" Callender.
Callegari
Hegar
Craddick Geren Mercer
Allen Giddings Merritt
Alonzo Goodman Miller
Bailey Goolsby Moreno of Harris
Baxter Griggs Moreno of El Paso
Berman Grusendorf Morrison
Bohac Guillen Mowery
Bonnen Gutierrez Naishtat
Branch Haggerty Nixon
Brown of Kaufman Hamilton Noriega
Brown of Brazos Hamric Oliveira
Burnam Hardcastle Olivo
Callegari Harper-Brown Paxton
Campbell Hartnett Pena
Canales Heflin Phillips
Capelo Hegar Pickett
Casteel Hilderbran Pitts
Castro Hill Puente
Chavez Hochberg Quintanilla
Chisum Hodge Raymond
Christian Homer Reyna
Coleman Hope Riddle
Cook of Navarro Hopson Ritter
Cook of Colorado Howard Rodriguez
Corte Hughes Rose
Crabb Hunter Seaman
Crownover Hupp Smith of Tarrant
Davis of Harris Isett Smith of Harris
Davis of Dallas Jones of Lubbock Smithee
Dawson Jones of Bexar Solis
Delisi Jones of Dallas Solomons
Denny Keel Stick
Deshotel Keffer of Dallas Swinford
Driver Keffer of Eastland Talton
Dukes King Taylor
Dunnam Kolkhorst Telford
Dutton Krusee Thompson
Edwards Kuempel Truitt
Eiland Laney Turner
Eissler Laubenberg Uresti
Elkins Lewis Van Arsdale
Ellis Luna Villarreal
Escobar Mabry West
Farabee Madden Wilson
Farrar Marchant Wise
Flores Martinez Fischer Wohlgemuth
Flynn McCall Wolens
Gallego McClendon Wong
Garza McReynolds Woolley
Gattis Menendez Zedler
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 97 was unanimously adopted by a rising
vote of the House on September 24, 2003.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House