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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Words cannot adequately express the sorrow felt at |
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the tragic death of James Michael Grant of Gatesville on September |
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15, 2007, at the age of 44; and |
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WHEREAS, Michael Grant was born in Denton to Garnett and |
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Nancy Grant on May 23, 1963; he graduated from Gatesville High |
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School in 1981 and went on to attend Southwest Texas State |
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University; he later became an integral part of the family |
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business, including operating Grant's Bar & Grill in Copperas Cove |
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for more than 10 years; and |
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WHEREAS, Possessing a natural love of learning, Mr. Grant |
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eagerly consumed knowledge of history and politics and delighted in |
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the family pastime of political debate; moreover, he was an avid |
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reader whose goal it was to read all of the great books; equally |
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comfortable with hands-on pursuits, he had a knack for building and |
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repairing things, and he was a gifted writer and artist; his |
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multifaceted interests also included star gazing at the top of |
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Grant's Mountain, hunting, camping, football, guns, and cars; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Grant further distinguished himself as a |
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dedicated and loving father who worked hard to provide a good home |
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for his children; with his genuine love of life and his generosity |
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toward others, he set an inspiring example for his daughters, Jana |
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and Kate, and their remarkable achievements since his passing are |
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due in no small part to the foundation he laid for them while he was |
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alive; and |
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WHEREAS, His oldest daughter, Jana Ramsey Grant, is a |
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graduating senior at Comanche High School, where she was not only |
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named class favorite both her junior and senior years, but she was |
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also selected as the 2008-2009 homecoming queen; in addition, she |
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has participated in such UIL events as literary criticism, prose, |
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poetry, and one-act play, for which she earned Honorable Mention |
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All-Star Cast, and she is a member of the cheerleading squad; |
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outside of school, she gives back to her fellow residents through |
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her involvement in the faith-based group Community Rehab; and |
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WHEREAS, Kate Grant is a straight-A student in the gifted and |
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talented program at Decatur Intermediate School and was an |
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award-winning participant in the FFA food project at the Wise |
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County Youth Fair; when she is not studying, she spends much of her |
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time practicing for the Quest Aquatics Swim Team, and she plans to |
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participate in track and field, cross-country, and volleyball at |
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Decatur Middle School next year; moreover, she has explored public |
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service as an honorary sergeant in the Texas House of |
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Representatives and as a student scholar in Senator Kip Averitt's |
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office; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Grant would no doubt beam with pride to see these |
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talented young women today; left in his stead to share in the |
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pleasure of their accomplishments are his father, Garnett Grant, |
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and his siblings, Shelton and Kathy Grant; Michael Grant was the |
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rock of his close-knit family, and it is only fitting that they are |
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in turn providing such stability, encouragement, and guidance for |
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his cherished daughters; and |
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WHEREAS, Michael Grant would have turned 46 years old on May |
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23, 2009, a day that will forever hold special meaning for those |
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closest to him; although his many friends and loved ones have |
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experienced tremendous grief in the wake of his death, they may take |
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comfort in knowing that he embraced life to the fullest and brought |
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immeasurable joy to countless people during his years on this |
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earth; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby pay tribute to the memory of James Michael Grant and extend |
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sincere sympathy to the members of his family: to his daughters, |
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Jana Ramsey Grant and Kate Grant; to his father, Garnett Grant; to |
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his brother, Shelton Grant; to his sister, Kathy Grant; to his |
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companion, Cheri Lock Tull; and to all who mourn his passing; and, |
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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 and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of |
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Michael Grant. |