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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends across the Lone Star State and |
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nationwide are mourning the passing on March 15, 2007, of the |
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prominent civic leader and volunteer, Martha Barnes Weisend of |
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Dallas; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Ripley, Tennessee, on September 15, 1931, |
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Mrs. Weisend was the daughter of John William and Ruby Cunningham |
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Barnes; after graduating from Ripley High School, she began working |
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as an accountant for the Wesson Oil and Snowdrift Company in |
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Memphis, while furthering her education as a business student at |
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Memphis State University; and |
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WHEREAS, She moved to Dallas in 1958, and on September 5, |
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1965, she married Dallas businessman C. Frederick "Fritz" Weisend; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Weisend was active with the Republican Party |
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from an early age; she volunteered for the Eisenhower presidential |
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campaigns in 1952 and 1956, and again for the campaign of Barry |
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Goldwater in 1964; she learned the art of political participation |
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from the ground up, by walking door to door for the candidates and |
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causes she believed in; and |
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WHEREAS, Her commitment and passion continued to find |
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expression in countless political campaigns at the local, state, |
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and national levels; in 1978 she was the Texas State Chairman for |
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the gubernatorial campaign of Bill Clements, playing an |
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instrumental role in electing the first Republican governor in |
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Texas in 100 years, and she was Governor Clements' state chairman |
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again during his successful reelection campaign; and |
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WHEREAS, She continued to participate politically by serving |
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as Texas State Chairman for both Reagan-Bush campaigns in the |
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1980s, as well as serving as Vice Chair of the Dallas County |
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Republican Party and as cochair of the Republican Host Committee |
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for the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas; in recent |
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years she continued her hard work, raising over $1 million for the |
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Bush-Cheney campaigns; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Weisend was equally passionate about her |
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service to her community; a member of many corporate and civic |
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association boards, she was a founder of the Dallas Blue |
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Foundation, which provides assistance to the families of Dallas |
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police officers who have been killed or disabled in the line of |
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duty; as president and executive director of the foundation for |
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over 15 years, she devoted her considerable expertise as a |
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fundraiser to permanently funding the foundation's endowment, |
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helping to raise $14 million since 1992; and |
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WHEREAS, Martha Barnes Weisend will long be remembered by all |
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who knew her for her boundless energy, her quiet authority, and her |
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tireless political participation, and she leaves a legacy of |
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service and achievement that will continue to benefit her community |
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for years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the memory of Martha Barnes Weisend and |
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extend sincere condolences to her family: to her daughter, Melissa |
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Ann Weisend; to her stepsons, Kerry Weisend and Michael Weisend; to |
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her stepdaughter, Patricia Weisend; to her sisters, Anne Bowie and |
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Sue Gillespie; and to her other relatives and many friends; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That when the Texas House of Representatives |
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adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Martha Barnes Weisend. |