| |
|
|
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1043
|
| |
| |
|
|
In Memory |
|
|
of |
|
|
Tommie Lee Bell |
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas honors and |
|
|
commemorates the life of Tommie Lee Bell, a pioneer among black |
|
|
El Pasoans, who died May 18, 2009, at the age of 100; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Tommie Lee Bell was born in 1908; he was raised on |
|
|
a farm in Faker, Texas; he left the East Texas area in the 1930s |
|
|
to escape prejudice and to find work in El Paso; soon after moving |
|
|
to El Paso, he married Lenora Hudson, who was from his hometown; |
|
|
they were married for more than 60 years and had a son, the late |
|
|
David Lee Bell, and a daughter, Tommie Anita Bell; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, He found work as an elevator operator at the Plaza |
|
|
Hotel before being hired by Beaumont Army Medical Center, where |
|
|
he worked as a cook and as a supervisor for 25 years before |
|
|
retiring; he was one of the first black people to work as a |
|
|
civilian at the center and was among the first blacks to own |
|
|
property in El Paso; he had saved 25 cents a week to buy his first |
|
|
home; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, he was active in community |
|
|
service and volunteered with numerous organizations; at the age |
|
|
of 90, he began volunteering at the Sierra Medical Center two |
|
|
times a week as a lobby escort; when he was 92 years old, he was |
|
|
honored as the Man of Distinction by the Delta Sigma Theta |
|
|
Sorority for his commitment to community service; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Bell was a quiet, unassuming gentleman noted |
|
|
for his warmth, his strength of character, and his kindness to |
|
|
others; he lived through dramatic changes in the United States as |
|
|
blacks gained equal rights, and he was an exemplary role model in |
|
|
his community; he was a devoted father, and he leaves behind |
|
|
memories that will be treasured for years to come by his family |
|
|
and his many friends; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 81st |
|
|
Legislature, hereby honor the memory of Tommie Lee Bell and |
|
|
extend sincere condolences to his bereaved family; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
|
|
his family as an expression of deepest sympathy from the Texas |
|
|
Senate, and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in |
|
|
memory of Tommie Lee Bell. |
|
|
Shapleigh |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
|
President of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I hereby certify that the |
|
|
|
above Resolution was adopted by |
|
|
|
the Senate on May 27, 2009, by a |
|
|
|
rising vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
|
Secretary of the Senate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________________________________ |
|
|
|
Member, Texas Senate |