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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends are mourning the loss of |
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accomplished community leader and civil rights pioneer Quentin R. |
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Mease of Houston, who died on February 24, 2009, at the age of 100; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Quentin Ronald Mease was born on October 25, 1908, |
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in Buxton, Iowa, the son of a coal miner and a seamstress; he moved |
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to Des Moines with his family in 1920, graduating from West High |
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School in 1924 and from Des Moines University in 1928; and |
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WHEREAS, Following in the footsteps of his father, who was a |
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labor leader, Mr. Mease took an active part in his community even as |
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a young man; he was executive director of the local YMCA at the age |
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of 19, as well as a member of the NAACP, the Negro Chamber of |
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Commerce, and the Interracial Commission; and |
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WHEREAS, During World War II, Mr. Mease served his nation |
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with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific, where he rose to the |
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rank of captain; a decorated veteran, he went on to earn a master's |
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degree in social work administration from George Williams College |
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in Chicago; and |
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WHEREAS, Moving to Houston in 1948 to take a job as the |
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executive director of the Bagby Street YMCA, Mr. Mease was soon |
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recognized as one of the most dynamic young African American |
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leaders in the city, helping to establish the South Central YMCA in |
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the Third Ward; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Mease played a vital role in the peaceful |
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desegregation of Houston, permitting student civil rights |
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activists to use the YMCA as a base of operations; he was also |
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instrumental in the creation of the Houston Area Urban League, the |
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Eliza Johnson Home, and the Houston Council on Human Relations; and |
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WHEREAS, Appointed to the first governing board of the Harris |
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County Hospital District in 1965, he became chair in 1971 and served |
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for 19 years; during that time, the district opened 11 community |
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health clinics, built two hospitals, and improved the pay of |
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medical workers; the Quentin Mease Community Hospital was named in |
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recognition of his enormous contribution to health care in Houston; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, A principled man of great vision and integrity, |
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Quentin Mease dedicated his life to the ideal of social justice and |
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to the betterment of his community, and his legacy will continue to |
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be an inspiration to all who knew and admired him; now, therefore, |
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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 memory of Quentin R. Mease and |
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extend sincere condolences to his daughter, Barbara Ranson, and to |
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his other relatives and friends; 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 Quentin R. |
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Mease. |
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Edwards |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 881 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on March 26, 2009. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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