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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, A golden wedding anniversary signifies a love that |
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has stood the test of time, and five decades after exchanging their |
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vows of matrimony, Bill and Marlena Terry are being honored by a |
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host of family and friends at a party on May 29, 2011, in Longview; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The son of Thomas Morrell Terry and Zora Esther |
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Eppler Terry, William Eppler Terry was born and raised in Cisco, |
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while the former Marlena Morine Raley Smith was born in Veribest and |
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raised in Junction, the daughter of James "Cot" Olan Raley and |
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Wilhelmina Alma Marie Spieker Raley; the pair met at the First |
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Methodist Church in Bronte, where they attended with their spouses |
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and children, and their families shared many happy times together |
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at church and scouting activities; life took a difficult turn when |
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their spouses became seriously ill, and during that challenging |
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time they each stood steadfastly by their mates, demonstrating a |
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loyalty that engendered a deep respect in one another; and |
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WHEREAS, After the death of her husband, Marlena Smith spent |
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time with a group of widows known as the "seven angels," and Mr. |
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Terry recalls that his future wife was the prettiest of them all; to |
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provide for her family, she went to work in Bronte at Henry's Fast |
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Food and Grocery, from which Mr. Terry claims he "rescued" her; he |
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began stopping by regularly to visit with her on her coffee breaks, |
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and in late 1960 the couple went on their first date, an excursion |
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to San Angelo; most of their dates, however, consisted of their |
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driving around together on his night shift, while he checked wells; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The couple soon fell in love, and on May 29, 1961, |
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they were joined in marriage in a ceremony officiated by A. Lin |
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Leoffler at the First Methodist Church in Bronte; their attendants |
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included the bride's friend, Jean Sheppard, as maid of honor and the |
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groom's cousin, Glen Campbell, as best man; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Terry and their blended family moved to |
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Anson after their wedding and relocated to White Oak four years |
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later; their children are Stephen Dennis Terry and his wife, Susan, |
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James Huey Smith and his wife, Joanne, Patricia Ann Smith Owens and |
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her husband, Raymond, Gary Don Smith and his wife, Joy, Richard |
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Wayne Smith and his wife, Sharon, Barbara Ruth Smith Boone, Mollie |
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Jeanette Smith Upton and her husband, Paul, and the late Allen |
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Michael Terry; through the years, Bill and Marlena Terry have |
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become grandparents 19 times over, to Danny, Joey, Rusty, Billy |
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Bob, and Cody Terry, Homer, Jason, and Miranda Owens, Mandy Munoz, |
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Krystal, Kelli, E. J., Jeb, and Neely Smith, Dustin, Dexter, and |
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Dakota Upton, Leslie Wilhelm, and the late James Huey Smith, Jr.; |
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their treasured family has also grown to include 24 |
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great-grandchildren; and |
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WHEREAS, Now retired, Mr. Terry from ExxonMobil and Mrs. |
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Terry from Abercrombie Printing Company, the couple are valued |
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congregants of White Oak United Methodist Church and former |
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volunteers with Meals on Wheels; Mrs. Terry is a longtime member of |
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the Order of the Eastern Star, and Mr. Terry is a 32nd degree Mason, |
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a U.S. Navy veteran, and a Purple Heart recipient who gives talks to |
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schoolchildren about his wartime experience at Pearl Harbor, a |
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subject about which he has been interviewed by newspaper and |
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television reporters; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Terry have enjoyed five decades of |
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abiding love and affection for one another, and they are among an |
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exceptional group of men and women who can claim such a lasting |
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commitment; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby congratulate Bill and Marlena Terry on the occasion of their |
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golden wedding anniversary and extend to them sincere best wishes |
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for continued happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the couple as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives and Senate. |