78R8851 MW-D

By:  Hegar                                                        H.R. No. 487



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Lone Star State lost a beloved citizen and 
courageous patriot when Roy Alan Bracher of Spring Branch passed 
away on March 9, 2003, at the age of 82; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Bracher was born in Austin on April 14, 1920; he 
attended Texas A&M University but left in his senior year to answer 
his country's call to duty during World War II, and he continued his 
service through the Korean War; and
	WHEREAS, A civil engineer, Mr. Bracher served as a captain in 
the United States Army; he landed at Normandy on D-Day +3 with the 
376th Engineer Airborne Battalion and worked on the construction of 
the first airstrip to be used by the Allied Forces and on succeeding 
landing strips behind the retreating German lines; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Bracher witnessed the atrocities at the Dachau 
concentration camp; he wrote to his mother about his experiences, 
and his letter is now on display at the Holocaust Museum in Houston; 
and
	WHEREAS, After settling in Spring Branch, Mr. Bracher raised 
a family and built homes in the community; he owned Bracher 
Construction Company, which constructed streets and bridges for the 
City of Houston, and his residential rental properties continue to 
provide affordable housing for low-income and middle-income 
families; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Bracher was a former member of the Heights 
Rotary Club and a valued and respected member of his community; and
	WHEREAS, Through his service to his country, his dedication 
to his family, and the myriad contributions he made toward the 
betterment of the lives of his fellow Texans, Mr. Bracher left an 
enduring legacy enshrined in the hearts of those individuals who 
were fortunate enough to have known him; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature hereby pay special tribute to the life of Roy Alan 
Bracher and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his family:  
to his wife, Fay;  to his children and their spouses, Roy Alan and 
Shelly Bracher, Linda and Jeffrey Lehmann, Lanelle and Ronnie 
Simms, Philip and Rosalind Belitsky, Irwin Belitsky, and Ralph 
Belitsky; to his grandchildren, Lora Bergeron, Lindsay Janek, Lisa 
Sweitzer, Cody Alan and Caitlyn Renee Bracher, and Catherine 
Alexis, Lorraine, Michael, Matthew, and Melissa Belitsky; to his 
three great-grandchildren; and to his other relatives and many 
friends; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for the members of his family and that when the Texas House 
of Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Roy Alan 
Bracher.