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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A full and productive life drew to a close with the |
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passing of Elinor Steinhagen Burrus on January 27, 2011, at the age |
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of 83; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of Daniel and Ruth Steinhagen, the |
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former Elinor Steinhagen was born in Beaumont on March 23, 1927; she |
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graduated from Beaumont High School and attended Sullins College in |
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Virginia before graduating from The University of Texas at Austin; |
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while working for a Beaumont architectural firm, Goldman Roth, she |
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paid a visit to a friend and met his older brother, Eugene Anthony |
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Burrus, Jr.; she and Gene Burrus were joined in matrimony six months |
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later, and she often said that he could have proposed on their first |
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date, and she would have immediately accepted; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Burrus became the mother of two children, |
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Vivian and Gene, and later welcomed seven cherished grandchildren |
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into the family; she and her husband shared a rewarding marriage for |
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50 years until his passing; and |
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WHEREAS, For many decades, Mrs. Burrus resided at Crystal |
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Beach, and she dedicated herself to the conservation of the Texas |
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Gulf Coast; she was instrumental in the early development of the |
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Texas Coastal Management Program, and she compiled extensive data |
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and took photographs that are still used in coastal law classes; the |
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General Land Office honored her tireless efforts to fight coastal |
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erosion on the Bolivar Peninsula by naming her its first Volunteer |
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of the Year in 1997; in addition, the Garden Club of America |
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accorded her its Zone IX Conservation Award; she was a member of the |
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Nature Conservancy and the National Parks Conservation |
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Association; and |
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WHEREAS, This dynamic Texan also served her community as a |
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member of the Junior League of Beaumont, the Magnolia Garden Club, |
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and the Texas Historical Society, and she was a charter member of |
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Trinity United Methodist Church; fascinated by genealogy, she |
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carefully documented the history of both the Burrus and the |
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Steinhagen families, even contacting a courthouse in the former |
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East Germany and persuading them to accept a personal check in |
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exchange for the certified birth certificates of ancestors; and |
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WHEREAS, Feisty and independent, yet also kind and deeply |
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devoted to her family, Elinor Burrus distinguished herself through |
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her efforts to promote environmental stewardship, and she will |
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forever remain a source of inspiration to those who were privileged |
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to know her; 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 memory of Elinor Steinhagen |
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Burrus and extend sincere condolences to the members of her family: |
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to her daughter, Vivian Burrus Todd, and her husband, Jerry; to her |
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son, Gene Burrus III, and his wife, Ruthie; to her grandchildren, |
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Ellie Burrus Livesay and her husband, Grant, Laura Todd Weaver and |
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her husband, Jamie, Tyrrell and Charles Burrus, and Daniel, |
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William, and Chad Todd; to her great-granddaughter, Claire Livesay; |
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to her brother-in-law, Felix Burrus; to her sister-in-law, Chloe |
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Steinhagen; and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Elinor |
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Steinhagen Burrus. |