79S30407 JTR-D

By:  Hilderbran                                                   H.R. No. 147



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The community of Bandera was deeply saddened by the 
sudden passing of Claire Johnston on November 19, 2005, and we join 
her many friends and admirers in mourning their loss; and
	WHEREAS, Born in Dalhart, the former Claire Elizabeth 
Beecroft grew up in San Marcos and graduated from The University of 
Texas at Austin with a degree in education and foreign languages; 
and
	WHEREAS, She was a military wife before moving to Brownsville 
with her first husband, Major John Frederick English, who died in 
1976; and
	WHEREAS, In 1982 she married Gary Johnston and moved with him 
to Bandera, and in the years that followed she distinguished 
herself as one of this Central Texas town's most influential and 
beloved citizens; she played a key role in the organization of the 
Bandera Regional Community Foundation and in the designation of the 
Bandera Library Corporation as a nonprofit entity; and
	WHEREAS, An avid and talented gardener, Mrs. Johnston also 
served as treasurer of the Rose Garden Club of Medina, and had 
previously served as a director of District VII of Texas Garden 
Clubs, Inc., and in several capacities with the San Antonio Garden 
Center, of which she was a life member; and
	WHEREAS, Her gardening expertise and bilingual abilities led 
her to prominence as an internationally accredited flower show and 
horticultural design judge, and her taste and judgment were sought 
after as far away as Mexico and South America; and
	WHEREAS, In all her travels, her heart never strayed far from 
her Hill Country home, where she cultivated her friendships with 
the same care she devoted to her own beloved garden; and
	WHEREAS, Though she will be greatly missed, Claire Johnston 
will long be remembered for her kindness, her creativity, and her 
graciousness by all those who were fortunate enough to have known 
her; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of 
Claire Johnston and extend sincere sympathy to the members of her 
family: to her husband, Gary Johnston; to her brother and 
sister-in-law, Bertram and Betty Beecroft; to her sister and 
brother-in-law, Catherine and Everett Johnson; to her niece, Mary 
Morgan; to her nephews, Thomas L. Beecroft and his wife, Diane, 
Samuel R. Beecroft and his wife, Melissa, and Everett F. Johnson and 
his wife, Mindy; to her stepchildren, Jordan M. Johnston, Daria J. 
Williams and her husband, Jason, and Marcus F. Johnston; and to her 
other family members and many friends; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of 
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Claire 
Johnston.