H.R. No. 1264

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, A life made rich through meaningful service drew to
	a close when restaurateur, rancher, and activist Benjamin N. Matta
	of Pecos died on November 4, 2010, at the age of 90; and
	WHEREAS, Ben Matta was born in Saragosa on April 1, 1920, to
	Sebestian and Margarita Matta; he learned the value of hard work at
	an early age, leaving school after the sixth grade; and
	WHEREAS, In 1939, Mr. Matta was managing a grocery store in
	Pecos when he started his first restaurant in a house on the corner
	of Fourth and Walnut Streets; by 1960, Ben's Spanish Inn had moved
	to its fifth location on West Third Street, seating 450 patrons; the
	restaurant was known throughout West Texas for its popular chile
	relleno, and Mr. Matta designed and built a chile roaster that could
	roast 500 pounds of chiles in an hour; and
	WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Matta was a champion for
	civil rights; in 1943, he refused to accept a seat in the upper
	balcony of the Grand Theater in Pecos, where Hispanics usually had
	to sit; from 1949 to 1952, he led a successful campaign to obtain
	pavement and gutters for the East Pecos neighborhood, and in the
	early 1950s he helped to stop the segregation of Hispanic students
	in Pecos schools, despite a boycott of his restaurant; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Matta continued to be a leader in his community,
	serving as a Pecos city councilman, president of the League of
	United Latin American Citizens, and president of the Pecos
	Development Association; he was a 20-year member of the Pecos Lions
	Club, and in 1970 he was named as an Outstanding Director of the
	Pecos Chamber of Commerce; he attended St. Catherine's Catholic
	Church; and
	WHEREAS, In 1978, Mr. Matta retired to his ranch near Fort
	Davis, where he continued to demonstrate his skill at design and
	engineering, constructing an irrigation system for his vegetables
	and fruit trees that used half the water of a traditional system; he
	relocated to Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 1992 and then returned to
	Pecos in 1997; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Matta was joined in matrimony to the former
	Jesusita Chuy, and together they were blessed with six children,
	Ben, Jr., Louis, Jerry, Raymond, Hilda, and Mary; a passionate
	believer in education, Mr. Matta devoted much of his earnings from
	his restaurant for many years to sending his children to college;
	and
	WHEREAS, Ben Matta lived a full and generous life centered
	around his family and his community, and his devotion to both will
	continue to inspire all those who knew and loved him; now,
	therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
	Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Benjamin N. Matta and
	extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his
	wife, Jesusita Chuy Matta; to his sons, Ben Matta, Jr., Louis Matta,
	Jerry Matta, and Raymond Matta; to his daughters, Hilda Kershman
	and Mary Hollopeter; to his brother, Thomas Matta; to his sisters,
	Elvira Garcia and Maria Matta; to his grandchildren and
	great-grandchildren; and to his other relatives and friends; and,
	be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
	prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
	Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Benjamin N.
	Matta.
	Gallego
	Straus Gonzales of Williamson Morrison
	Aliseda Gonzalez Munoz, Jr.
	Allen Gooden Murphy
	Alonzo Guillen Naishtat
	Alvarado Gutierrez Nash
	Anchia Hamilton Oliveira
	Anderson of Dallas Hancock Orr
	Anderson of McLennan Hardcastle Otto
	Aycock Harless Parker
	Beck Harper-Brown Patrick
	Berman Hartnett Paxton
	Bohac Hernandez Luna Pena
	Bonnen Hilderbran Perry
	Branch Hochberg Phillips
	Brown Hopson Pickett
	Burkett Howard of Fort Bend Pitts
	Burnam Howard of Travis Price
	Button Huberty Quintanilla
	Cain Hughes Raymond
	Callegari Hunter Reynolds
	Carter Isaac Riddle
	Castro Jackson Ritter
	Chisum Johnson Rodriguez
	Christian Keffer Schwertner
	Coleman King of Parker Scott
	Cook King of Taylor Sheets
	Craddick King of Zavala Sheffield
	Creighton Kleinschmidt Shelton
	Crownover Kolkhorst Simpson
	Darby Kuempel Smith of Harris
	Davis of Dallas Landtroop Smith of Tarrant
	J. Davis of Harris Larson Smithee
	S. Davis of Harris Laubenberg Solomons
	Deshotel Lavender Strama
	Driver Legler Taylor of Collin
	Dukes Lewis Taylor of Galveston
	Dutton Lozano Thompson
	Eiland Lucio III Torres
	Eissler Lyne Truitt
	Elkins Madden Turner
	Farias Mallory Caraway Veasey
	Farrar Margo Villarreal
	Fletcher Marquez Vo
	Flynn Martinez Walle
	Frullo Martinez Fischer Weber
	Gallego McClendon White
	Garza Menendez Woolley
	Geren Miles Workman
	Giddings Miller of Comal Zedler
	Gonzales of Hidalgo Miller of Erath Zerwas
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 1264 was unanimously adopted by a rising
	vote of the House on April 21, 2011.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House