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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Rogelio Sanchez, the longest-serving county |
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commissioner in the history of El Paso County, passed away on |
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November 28, 2006, leaving behind a loving family, many friends and |
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admirers, and a community grateful for his years of dedicated |
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service; and |
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WHEREAS, Born on June 14, 1921, in the Mexican state of |
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Coahuila, Rogelio Sanchez moved with his family to Fort Hancock in |
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1923, where he grew up in a humble but close-knit community centered |
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around home, school, and church; at a young age, he took jobs in the |
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area's cotton fields, often laboring from sunrise to sunset for a |
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daily wage of 50 cents; he also worked hard in his school studies, |
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and his exemplary grades earned him the title of valedictorian of |
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the 1939 graduating class at Fort Hancock High School; and |
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WHEREAS, At the age of 18, Mr. Sanchez enrolled at Sul Ross |
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State Teachers College in Alpine; he was faced with racial |
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discrimination for the first time in his life during college, and |
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this unfair treatment made him more determined than ever to prove |
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himself; after graduating from college in 1942, this courageous |
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young man answered the call of his country during World War II, |
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serving in the United States Army for 32 months and taking part in |
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operations in the South Pacific; he attained the rank of sergeant |
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before being honorably discharged in December 1945; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Sanchez returned to Texas and chose to serve his |
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community as a schoolteacher, working in Fort Hancock, Tornillo, |
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and Clint; he took a significant interest in politics, and on |
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December 12, 1959, the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, he |
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announced that he was running for a seat on the Commissioners Court |
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of El Paso County; backed by a group of committed supporters, he |
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conducted a spirited door-to-door campaign and won the election, |
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beginning his 36-year tenure as a county commissioner; inspired by |
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that successful first campaign, he continued to announce his |
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candidacy for reelection on that same date of December 12 for the |
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rest of his career; and |
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WHEREAS, During his years as a county commissioner, Mr. |
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Sanchez supported the construction of many essential facilities, |
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including the R. E. Thomason General Hospital, the El Paso County |
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Library in Fabens, the Woodrow Bean Transmountain Road, the Sun |
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Bowl Stadium at The University of Texas at El Paso, and the new El |
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Paso County Courthouse; he worked to pave streets in new |
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subdivisions and to build low-income housing, and he brought in |
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state grant money to improve water service in the unincorporated |
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colonia settlements in the county; and |
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WHEREAS, Commissioner Sanchez's accomplishments have been |
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honored many times; he was named one of the most influential |
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Hispanics in Texas by Texas Hispanic Magazine and described as one |
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of the most significant Mexican American public figures in Texas by |
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The University of Texas at Arlington; in addition, a number of |
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public facilities have been named in his honor, including a Texas |
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Department of Criminal Justice facility, an El Paso County public |
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housing facility, and a complex in Fabens that contains a library |
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and county offices; and |
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WHEREAS, A man who often said that the secret of public |
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service was learning to disagree as agreeably as possible, Rogelio |
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Sanchez forged strong and constructive relationships with his |
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colleagues while carrying forth effective initiatives to benefit |
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his constituents; through his many decades of service, he worked to |
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bridge racial and political differences, and his steadfast efforts |
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had a lasting and positive impact on El Paso County; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the life of Rogelio Sanchez and offer |
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sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his wife of 56 |
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years, Maria Montoya Sanchez; to his children, Michael Sanchez and |
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his wife, Pat, Albert Sanchez, and Maricela Chibli and her husband, |
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Eduardo; to his grandchildren, Aaron and Marissa Chibli; to his |
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brothers, Jesus and his wife, Aurora, and Luis and his wife, |
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Juanita; to his sisters, Josefina Sanchez, Dolores Rivas and her |
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husband, Ignacio, and Irene Batista and her husband, Ruben; and to |
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his other relatives and friends; Mr. Sanchez was preceded in death |
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by his brother, David Sanchez, and by his sisters, Julia Anaya, |
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Connie Chavez, and Maria Vasquez; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Rogelio |
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Sanchez. |
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Quintanilla |
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Pickett |
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Haggerty |
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Chavez |
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Moreno |
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Anderson |
Gonzalez Toureilles |
Mowery |
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Brown of Kaufman |
Harper-Brown |
Ortiz, Jr. |
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Brown of Brazos |
Hartnett |
Otto |
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Callegari |
Hernandez |
Patrick |
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Christian |
Hochberg |
Pickett |
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Cook of Navarro |
Hopson |
Puente |
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Cook of Colorado |
Howard of Fort Bend |
Quintanilla |
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Corte |
Howard of Travis |
Raymond |
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Crownover |
Jackson |
Rodriguez |
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Davis of Harris |
Keffer |
Smith of Tarrant |
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Davis of Dallas |
King of Parker |
Smith of Harris |
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Delisi |
King of Taylor |
Smithee |
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Deshotel |
King of Zavala |
Solomons |
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Eissler |
Leibowitz |
Thompson |
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Escobar |
Madden |
Van Arsdale |
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Farabee |
Mallory Caraway |
Vaught |
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Farrar |
Martinez Fischer |
Villarreal |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 535 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on March 14, 2007. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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