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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 883
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WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas honors and |
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commemorates the life of Benjamin Ellis Pickett, Sr., who died |
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August 18, 2006, at the age of 86; and |
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WHEREAS, Ben Pickett was a highly decorated veteran of |
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World War II and the first paid fire chief of Liberty; he led one |
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of the best trained volunteer departments in the state for almost |
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30 years and founded the city's professional emergency medical |
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services program; and |
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WHEREAS, He was born on December 28, 1919, to |
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Mary Ellis Pickett and Ernest William Pickett; he attended the |
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Shriner Institute in Kerrville and The University of Texas; |
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during World War II, he was a captain in the United States Army |
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Air Corps and flew 65 missions over France and Italy; he married |
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Ellen Watson of Hull in 1949, and they had four children; and |
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WHEREAS, A lifelong resident of Liberty, he was dedicated |
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to public service and revered for his quiet courage and his |
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effective leadership; he joined the Liberty Fire Department as a |
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volunteer when he was 13 years old, and he retired at the age of |
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68; he served on the city council from 1948 to 1951 and also |
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served as a municipal judge and as Liberty's first police |
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commissioner; in recognition of his many contributions to the |
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city's fire department, the firefighting training center in |
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Liberty was named in his honor; and |
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WHEREAS, After he retired, he taught himself to use a |
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computer and applied his newly acquired skills in researching his |
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family history and the history of his beloved hometown; and |
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WHEREAS, Ben Pickett was a generous and compassionate man |
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noted for his warm sense of humor, his gentle manner, his keen |
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insight, and his wise counsel; he was a devoted husband, father, |
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and grandfather, and he leaves behind memories that will be |
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treasured for years to come by his family and many friends; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, |
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80th Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the life of |
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Benjamin Ellis Pickett, Sr., and extend sincere condolences |
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to his bereaved family: his wife, Ellen; his son and |
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daughter-in-law, Benjamin Ellis Pickett, Jr., and Deborah; his |
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daughters and sons-in-law, Laura and Gary Calfee, Lisa and |
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Clay Edmonds, and Amy and Neil Leibman; and his grandchildren |
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and great-grandchildren; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
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his family as an expression of deepest sympathy from the |
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Texas Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so |
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in memory of Benjamin Ellis Pickett, Sr. |
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Williams |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on April 25, 2007, by a |
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rising vote. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |