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                                                                  H.R. No. 197


R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Cleburne community lost a beloved resident when James R. "Jim" Atchley passed away on August 31, 2003, at the age of 74; and WHEREAS, Born on July 2, 1929, in Cleburne, Mr. Atchley graduated from Cleburne High School in 1947; this native son remained deeply involved in the Cleburne community throughout his life as a member of the Cleburne Yellow Jacket Booster Club, as a 33rd-degree Mason with Cleburne Masonic Lodge No. 315, and as a congregant at Field St. Baptist Church, where he belonged to the Tent Makers Class and the Joyful Sound Choir; Mr. Atchley also played in the WST Bluegrass Band and acted as master of ceremonies for bluegrass festivals in Glen Rose; and WHEREAS, In April of 1948, Mr. Atchley began a 48-year tenure with the Santa Fe Railroad as a freight brakeman, earning a promotion to conductor and receiving switchman's seniority in 1960; and WHEREAS, An esteemed member of the former Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and the United Transportation Union (UTU), Mr. Atchley served as local legislative representative, member of the local board of trustees, secretary of the Texas Legislative Board, and assistant state legislative director; on January 1, 1988, he assumed the office of state legislative director and was subsequently elected to two four-year terms; and WHEREAS, During his time with the UTU, Mr. Atchley worked with Governors Dolph Briscoe, Mark White, Bill Clements, Ann Richards, and George Bush, helping to pass legislation that benefited UTU members and their families and created better working conditions for rail and bus employees; and WHEREAS, A positive influence in the lives of countless Texans, Mr. Atchley leaves behind a legacy of good works that will not soon be forgotten; 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 James R. Atchley and extend deepest sympathy to the members of his family: to his son, Gary Atchley and his wife, Mindy; to his daughter, Debbe Prater and her husband, Mike; to his sister, Janelle Green; to his sister-in-law, Betty Jo Atchley; to his grandchildren, David Atchley, Kevin Atchley and his wife, Annette, Tommy Atchley and his wife, Caren, Cole Prater, and Curt Prater; to his great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn Atchley, Zoe Atchley, and Hayley Atchley; to his special friend, Ona Pritchard; and to his other relatives and many 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 Jim Atchley. Allen 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. 197 was unanimously adopted by a rising vote of the House on October 2, 2003. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House