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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Rio Grande Valley lost a revered civic leader |
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with the death of physician, educator, and civil rights pioneer Dr. |
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Ramiro Raul Casso on June 23, 2011, at the age of 88; and |
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WHEREAS, Born August 4, 1922, in the Buenos Aires colonia in |
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Laredo, Ramiro Casso was the son of Francisco and Josefa Casso; he |
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earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Texas |
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A&M University and immediately enlisted in the United States Army |
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Reserve; during World War II, he served his country as an |
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antiaircraft artillery captain; he then worked for two years in |
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Laredo as an engineer for the International Boundary and Water |
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Commission; and |
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WHEREAS, This dynamic Texan completed a second bachelor's |
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degree in chemistry at Baylor University in 1952 and went on to |
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graduate from The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School; |
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following his internship at Robert B. Green Memorial Hospital in |
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San Antonio, he opened a private family medical practice in |
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McAllen; he frequently treated those who could not afford to pay |
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him, and he worked tirelessly to ensure that all in need could find |
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access to quality health care; in addition to operating a |
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charitable medical clinic for migrant workers, he assisted in the |
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founding of the Hidalgo County Health Care Corporation, and he |
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later helped found El Milagro Clinic and served for many years on |
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its board; and |
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WHEREAS, Dedicated to equal rights and justice, Dr. Casso was |
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a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and in |
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1948 he played a key role in the organization's Delgado v. Bastrop |
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ISD lawsuit, which concluded with the judge ordering the cessation |
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of the segregation of Hispanic public school children in Texas; he |
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vigorously supported the United Farm Workers union in its drive to |
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win workers' compensation and unemployment benefits for field |
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laborers and in its efforts to secure their right to know the |
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dangers of pesticides that they encountered in the course of their |
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employment; in the mid-1960s, he treated the injuries of workers |
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beaten during a strike, and his forceful statements against |
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brutality reached a national audience and changed the culture of |
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the Texas Rangers; he was appointed to the Texas Commission on Human |
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Rights in 1983 and served on the national board of the American |
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Civil Liberties Union; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Casso was a member of the Health Planning |
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Advisory Committee of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development |
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Council, and he became the first physician member of the board of |
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McAllen General Hospital; he served on the boards of McAllen |
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Methodist Hospital and McAllen Medical Center and participated in |
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two White House health conferences; as a member of the National |
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Advisory Board for Health-Care for the Aged under Social Security, |
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he helped build support for the implementation of Medicare; he was |
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appointed to the National Advisory Board for Health Research |
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Facilities of the National Institutes of Health and was twice |
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appointed to the Texas Board of Health; responding to a critical |
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need, he galvanized public support for the establishment of a |
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University of Texas Regional Academic Health Center in the Rio |
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Grande Valley, and he served on the adjunct faculty of the Texas A&M |
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University School of Rural Public Health as well; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1994, Dr. Casso retired from his medical |
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practice, but the following year, he accepted the task of |
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establishing the nursing program at South Texas College; he served |
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as the first director of the school's Nursing and Allied Health |
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Division and then became the college's vice president for |
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institutional advancement and raised millions of dollars for the |
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construction of the Nursing and Allied Health Center; moreover, he |
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co-founded the Valley Scholars Program at STC and forged agreements |
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with four-year institutions to grant scholarships to Valley |
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Scholars graduates; the college named the Dr. Ramiro R. Casso |
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Nursing and Allied Health Center in his honor; in 2002, he retired |
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for the second time at the age of 80; and |
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WHEREAS, Selfless in his concern for his fellow citizens, Dr. |
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Casso also served through the years on the boards of the McAllen |
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Independent School District, the McAllen Housing Authority, and the |
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Hidalgo County Housing Authority; his myriad accolades included the |
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Bishop Medeiros Golden Deeds Award, and in 1996 he was named Man of |
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the Year by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce; a 32nd degree Mason, he |
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was accorded his lodge's highest honor, the Golden Trowel Award, in |
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2003, and Latino Monthly selected him as one of 100 Outstanding |
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Hispanic Americans for the 20th Century; and |
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WHEREAS, Dr. Ramiro Casso wielded tremendous influence in the |
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Rio Grande Valley and at the state and national levels, yet he |
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remained a humble, gentle man with a subtle sense of humor; his |
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tremendous contributions will continue to resonate widely in the |
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years to come, and although he will be deeply missed, his unyielding |
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devotion to education, health care, and social progress will |
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forever inspire those who were privileged to know this visionary |
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leader; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of |
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Dr. Ramiro Raul Casso and extend sincere sympathy to the members of |
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his family: to his wife of 62 years, Emma Laurel Casso; to his 5 |
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children, Thelma Casso Morales and her husband, Pete, Lydia Casso |
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Tummel and her husband, Ken, Sylvia Casso, Daniel Casso and his |
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wife, Araceli, and David Casso and his wife, Vicki; to his 10 |
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grandchildren; to his great-grandson; and to his many other |
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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 Dr. Ramiro |
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Raul Casso. |