83R23090 JGH-D

By: Flynn H.R. No. 1783

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, A 90th birthday is a pretty significant milestone for any Texan, but Russell Louden of Weslaco celebrated the arrival of his ninth decade in high style, by jumping out of a perfectly good airplane over South Padre Island on January 19, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Louden had wanted to be a paratrooper during World War II, but the jump school had been closed to officers, so he was forced to wait 70 years to fulfill his ambition of becoming a skydiver; and

WHEREAS, On the day of his jump, Mr. Louden was accompanied by 20 friends to the island, where they congregated at a local establishment to offer him encouragement; thus encouraged, Mr. Louden took off from Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport and, with the assistance of staff members of Skydive South Padre, successfully jumped from 11,000 feet; in so doing, he accomplished two remarkable things: becoming the oldest person ever to skydive on South Padre Island and surviving to celebrate his actual birthday five days later, on January 24; and

WHEREAS, This lively and popular gentleman has also been riding motorcycles for 72 years; he first conceived of the plan of skydiving for his 90th birthday a year ago, and shortly before the day itself, he arrived at Skydive South Padre on his Honda 750 to pay the deposit; and

WHEREAS, Just getting to 90 is an impressive achievement in and of itself, but Mr. Louden has made it even more special with his fearlessness and sense of adventure; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby congratulate Russell Louden on the most impressive 90th birthday celebration ever and extend to him sincere best wishes for continued happy landings; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be created for Mr. Louden, if we can catch up with him, as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.