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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A full and generous life drew to a close with the |
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death of journalist, publisher, and Kerr County commissioner |
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William H. Williams of Kerrville on December 5, 2010, at the age of |
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79; and |
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WHEREAS, Bill Williams was born on October 21, 1931, in |
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Birmingham, Alabama, to Calvin and Lillian Levy Williams; raised in |
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Indiana, he attended Gulf Coast Military Academy in Mississippi; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Williams first came to Texas as a young man, when |
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he took a job as a printer at the Waco Tribune-Herald; in 1955, he |
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met his future wife, Lew, who was an editor at the paper and they |
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were married in 1958; together, they were blessed with a son, Will, |
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and two granddaughters, Erin and Caille; and |
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WHEREAS, A veteran newspaperman, Mr. Williams edited the |
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newspaper of the International Typographical Union in Colorado |
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Springs, Colorado; he then started working at the Daily Racing Form |
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in New York as the labor relations director and retired in the 1990s |
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as the paper's publisher; he and his wife moved to Kerrville in 1993 |
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and purchased the Kerrville Mountain Sun, which they ran for three |
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years; and |
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WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Williams actively |
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participated in civic affairs; while he was working for the Racing |
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Form, he served three terms as a committeeman and three terms as |
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mayor of Freehold Township, New Jersey; in Texas, he was appointed |
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by Governor George Bush to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, and |
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he was also named to serve on the Alamo Work Force Development |
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Board; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1998, Mr. Williams was elected as Kerr County |
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commissioner for Precinct 2, and at the time of his death, he had |
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just been reelected to his fourth term; during his tenure, he played |
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a leading role in creating the Kerrville South Wastewater Project, |
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providing sewer service for the first time to 250 homes; and |
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WHEREAS, This outstanding civic leader also served as a |
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director of the Alamo Area Council of Governments, the Alamo Area |
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Development Corporation, and the Kerr County/Kerrville Joint |
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Airport Board; he was a past president of the Host Lions Club and a |
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member of the Alliance for Progress in Center Point; he sat on the |
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executive committee of the Kerr Economic Development Foundation, |
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and he was a member of the Baylor University Alumni Foundation; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Williams was active with Zion Lutheran Church, |
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serving as congregation president during the construction of the |
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church's new sanctuary; he was also a talented pianist who enjoyed |
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performing at the church; and |
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WHEREAS, Bill Williams worked to better his community, and he |
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leaves behind a record of achievement and service that his loved |
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ones can look to with great pride; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable William |
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H. Williams and extend sincere condolences to the members of his |
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family: to his wife of 52 years, Lew Williams; to his son, Will |
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Williams and his wife, Pam; to his brother, Calvin T. Williams; to |
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his sister, Carolyn Turk; to his granddaughters, Erin and Caille; |
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and to his other 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 William H. |
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Williams. |
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Hilderbran |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 58 was unanimously adopted by a rising |
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vote of the House on February 24, 2011. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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