79S31476 MMS-D

By:  McCall                                                       H.R. No. 458



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Family and a host of friends are mourning the loss of 
W. G. Ragley of Plano, who passed away on April 26, 2006, at the age 
of 73; and
	WHEREAS, A driving force behind the Republican Party in 
Collin County, Mr. Ragley was born in Dallas on October 5, 1932; he 
graduated from Jesuit High School and the graduate school of 
banking at Southern Methodist University; and
	WHEREAS, Over a career that spanned more than 40 years, Mr. 
Ragley served as a vice president of Mercantile Bank in Dallas and 
other banks in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, and as 
president of banks in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Euless, and Plano; he 
went into mortgage banking in 1994; and
	WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan began his lifetime involvement 
in the Republican Party while still a student in high school; 
together with his wife, Dotty, he became active with the party in 
Collin County in the 1980s, and the couple played an instrumental 
role in its growth there; Mr. Ragley worked with the Republican 
Men's Club, assisted with a number of campaigns, and chaired the 
Collin County Republican Party from 1998 to 2001; and
	WHEREAS, "Buddy" Ragley figured prominently in expanding the 
scope of the party's efforts, helping the county organization reach 
out to minorities and develop a focus on national races, and he was 
one of those responsible for the acquisition of new party 
headquarters; in 2005, he and his wife received the John King 
McVeigh Award, the Collin County Republican Party's highest honor; 
and
	WHEREAS, A member of the chamber of commerce in every 
community where he lived and worked, Mr. Ragley served as president 
pro-tem of the Dallas junior chamber in 1964 and as president for 
two years of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford chamber; and
	WHEREAS, Endowed with a bold and exuberant spirit, Mr. Ragley 
brought to his many endeavors an unfailing integrity and 
purposefulness that won him the affection and esteem of countless 
fellow citizens, and his memory will be forever treasured by those 
who were privileged to share in his friendship; 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 
W. G. "Buddy" Ragley and extend sincere sympathy to the members of 
his family:  to his wife of 50 years, Dotty Ragley; to his daughter 
and son-in-law, Maribeth and Brian Cullen; 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 W. G. 
"Buddy" Ragley.