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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Victoria lost a cherished friend and |
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renowned philanthropist with the passing of Mary Katherine |
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Welhausen Borchers on February 28, 2009, at the age of 84; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of Carl Clarence Welhausen and Mary |
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Elizabeth McBride Welhausen, the former Mary Katherine Welhausen |
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was born in Yoakum on August 10, 1924, into the family that founded |
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Tex Tan Leather Company, which eventually became a division of |
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Tandy Corporation, the company known today as RadioShack |
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Corporation; an honors graduate of Yoakum High School, she was |
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Queen of the Yoakum Tom-Tom Festival in 1946, and she earned a |
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bachelor's degree in business administration with honors from The |
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University of Texas at Austin, where she also took graduate courses |
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in personnel management; and |
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WHEREAS, After meeting in high school, she and Lieutenant |
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Charles Borchers were joined in matrimony in August 1947, following |
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his military service during World War II; the couple settled in |
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Victoria in 1957; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Borchers worked as an administrator at The |
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University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and later as a |
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personal business, investment, and family trust manager for more |
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than three decades; she was also a general partner, along with her |
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husband and daughters, in Borchers Southern Y Ranches; and |
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WHEREAS, Engaged in the community, Mrs. Borchers was |
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affiliated with numerous local organizations, including the |
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Victoria Regional Museum Association, the Victoria County |
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Historical Commission, the American Red Cross, and the Cultural |
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Council of Victoria, and she assisted with such projects as the |
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restoration of the Victoria County Courthouse; she was a member of |
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the Victoria 100 Club, the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, |
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Daughters of the American Revolution, Club 20, Daughters of the |
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Republic of Texas, and many others; she also participated in the |
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Junior League of Victoria, and she received its "Sustainer of the |
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Year Award"; moreover, this esteemed Texan was recognized with the |
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Distinguished Citizen Award of Victoria in 2002; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the myriad organizations that benefited from |
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the support of Mrs. Borchers and her husband are the Victoria |
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Symphony, the Children's Discovery Museum, and the Victoria |
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Performing Arts Center, home of the Dr. Charles and Mary Katherine |
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Borchers Performance Hall; Mrs. Borchers further contributed to her |
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alma mater and a number of its institutions, including the McCombs |
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School of Business; she was a member of such groups as the |
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Ex-Students Association, the Chancellor's Council Executive |
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Committee, and the Longhorn Foundation, and she was named a Texas |
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Exes "Legend"; and |
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WHEREAS, Mary Katherine Borchers was an inspiration to all |
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who were fortunate enough to know her, and she leaves behind an |
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extraordinary legacy of compassion and goodwill that will not soon |
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be forgotten; 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 Mary Katherine |
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Welhausen Borchers and extend sincere sympathy to the members of |
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her family: to her husband of 61 years, Dr. Charles Lewis Borchers; |
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to her daughters, Mary Kay Borchers and Charla Borchers Leon and her |
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husband, Robert; to her brothers-in-law, William, Otto, and Marion |
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Borchers, and Don G. Kaspar; to her 12 nieces and nephews and 24 |
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great-nieces and great-nephews; and to her other relatives and many |
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friends; 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 Mary |
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Katherine Welhausen Borchers. |