| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, A full and productive life drew to a close with the |
|
|
passing of Elinor Steinhagen Burrus on January 27, 2011, at the age |
|
|
of 83; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The daughter of Daniel and Ruth Steinhagen, the |
|
|
former Elinor Steinhagen was born in Beaumont on March 23, 1927; she |
|
|
graduated from Beaumont High School and attended Sullins College in |
|
|
Virginia before graduating from The University of Texas at Austin; |
|
|
while working for a Beaumont architectural firm, Goldman Roth, she |
|
|
paid a visit to a friend and met his older brother, Eugene Anthony |
|
|
Burrus, Jr.; she and Gene Burrus were joined in matrimony six months |
|
|
later, and she often said that he could have proposed on their first |
|
|
date, and she would have immediately accepted; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mrs. Burrus became the mother of two children, |
|
|
Vivian and Gene, and later welcomed seven cherished grandchildren |
|
|
into the family; she and her husband shared a rewarding marriage for |
|
|
50 years until his passing; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, For many decades, Mrs. Burrus resided at Crystal |
|
|
Beach, and she dedicated herself to the conservation of the Texas |
|
|
Gulf Coast; she was instrumental in the early development of the |
|
|
Texas Coastal Management Program, and she compiled extensive data |
|
|
and took photographs that are still used in coastal law classes; the |
|
|
General Land Office honored her tireless efforts to fight coastal |
|
|
erosion on the Bolivar Peninsula by naming her its first Volunteer |
|
|
of the Year in 1997; in addition, the Garden Club of America |
|
|
accorded her its Zone IX Conservation Award; she was a member of the |
|
|
Nature Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation |
|
|
Association; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This dynamic Texan also served her community as a |
|
|
member of the Junior League of Beaumont, the Magnolia Garden Club, |
|
|
and the Texas Historical Society, and she was a charter member of |
|
|
Trinity United Methodist Church; fascinated by genealogy, she |
|
|
carefully documented the history of both the Burrus and the |
|
|
Steinhagen families, even contacting a courthouse in the former |
|
|
East Germany and persuading them to accept a personal check in |
|
|
exchange for the certified birth certificates of ancestors; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Feisty and independent, yet also kind and deeply |
|
|
devoted to her family, Elinor Burrus distinguished herself through |
|
|
her efforts to promote environmental stewardship, and she will |
|
|
forever remain a source of inspiration to those who were privileged |
|
|
to know her; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Elinor Steinhagen |
|
|
Burrus and extend sincere condolences to the members of her family: |
|
|
to her daughter, Vivian Burrus Todd, and her husband, Jerry; to her |
|
|
son, Gene Burrus III, and his wife, Ruthie; to her grandchildren, |
|
|
Ellie Burrus Livesay and her husband, Grant, Laura Todd Weaver and |
|
|
her husband, Jamie, Tyrrell and Charles Burrus, and Daniel, |
|
|
William, and Chad Todd; to her great-granddaughter, Claire Livesay; |
|
|
to her brother-in-law, Felix Burrus; to her sister-in-law, Chloe |
|
|
Steinhagen; and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Elinor |
|
|
Steinhagen Burrus. |
| |
|
|
Eiland |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 971 was unanimously adopted by a |
|
|
rising vote of the House on April 6, 2011. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |