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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The city of McAllen lost its revered "first lady" |
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with the passing of Lucile McKee Hendricks on November 6, 2007, at |
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the age of 98; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of B. F. and Sallie McKee, the former |
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Lucile McKee was born in Lebanon, Tennessee, on November 5, 1909; |
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her family moved to McAllen when she was a teenager and she attended |
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Edinburg Junior College, which later became The University of |
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Texas-Pan American; in 1927, she married Harold Hendricks, a |
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builder, and the couple later became the parents of two treasured |
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daughters, Ruth and Judith; and |
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WHEREAS, The hardworking young couple operated a gas station |
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and a boarding house during the Great Depression and began |
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investing in property; as the economy recovered, the construction |
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business prospered, and Mrs. Hendricks learned every aspect of it |
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by handling the bookkeeping and various other duties for the |
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company that her husband founded; while Mr. Hendricks handled |
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Brownsville and Laredo projects, Mrs. Hendricks went on to direct |
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operations in McAllen, and she oversaw construction of numerous |
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prominent commercial buildings; and |
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WHEREAS, After her husband died in 1964, Mrs. Hendricks ran |
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the company, and for years she was the only female member of the |
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Associated General Contractors in Texas; she became the first woman |
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to chair McAllen's Building Board of Adjustments and Appeals and |
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also chaired the Housing Authority Commission and served on the |
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Planning and Zoning Commission; moreover, she became the first |
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female elected official in Hidalgo County when she became a member |
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of the McAllen school board, and in 1959, she became the board's |
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first female president; and |
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WHEREAS, This endlessly energetic Texan was involved in |
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myriad aspects of civic life, among them state politics, |
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philanthropy, and the local cultural scene; she led the drive to |
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establish a civic center in McAllen and was a founder of the Rio |
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Grande Valley International Music Festival; during the 1950s, she |
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chaired the Mothers' March on Polio, and in her later years, Mrs. |
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Hendricks volunteered her time to Leadership McAllen, giving |
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historical lectures, and supported such organizations as the Zonta |
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Club, the McAllen Citizens League, and the Rio Grande chapter of the |
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Daughters of the American Revolution; and |
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WHEREAS, In February 2009, the McAllen Independent School |
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District recognized her long involvement in education by dedicating |
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an elementary school in her honor; Mrs. Hendricks received |
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countless other accolades over the years, among them the Woman of |
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the Year award from the chamber of commerce and the Humanitarian of |
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the Year award from the Easter Seals organization; in addition, she |
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was named Republican of the Decade for Hidalgo County; and |
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WHEREAS, Lucile McKee Hendricks was a remarkable woman who |
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excelled in many arenas and was a tireless advocate for education |
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and the arts, and her multifaceted influence will continue to be |
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felt in McAllen for years to come; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Lucile McKee |
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Hendricks and extend sincere sympathy to the members of her family: |
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to her daughter, Judith Rodriguez; to her grandsons, Gerry |
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Rodriguez and his wife, Cass, and Hal Summers and his wife, Christi; |
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to her great-grandsons, Harry and Diego Rodriguez and Kruger |
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Summers; and to her other relatives and her many friends and |
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admirers; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Lucile |
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McKee Hendricks. |