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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends will forever treasure their |
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memories of the Reverend Ben Sanchez Riojas of Houston, who passed |
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away on May 2, 2012, at the age of 94; and |
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WHEREAS, Ben Riojas was born in San Antonio to Bernabe and |
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Guadalupe Riojas on November 5, 1917, and he moved with his family |
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to Houston at an early age; he was a teenager when he formed a |
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musical group with a friend, Jesse Blanco, and together they |
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composed a number of popular Spanish-language gospel songs; during |
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those early years, Mr. Riojas also worked construction, and he |
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helped build the San Jacinto Monument; and |
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WHEREAS, Answering his nation's call to duty, Mr. Riojas |
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joined the U.S. Army in 1941 and was stationed in San Antonio at the |
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time of the attack on Pearl Harbor; he went on to train as a ranger |
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with the 2nd Infantry Division, and he was wounded during the |
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Normandy invasion in 1944; after recuperating in London, he |
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returned to combat and was wounded again, spending the last days of |
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his tour of duty in Paris before returning home to Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1946, Mr. Riojas married Rosie Perez, whom he had |
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met before the war when his band performed at a Galveston church; |
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they were blessed with three children, Amelia, Benny, and Gina; and |
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WHEREAS, Reverend and Mrs. Riojas pastored a number of |
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churches together in the Houston area until taking on what was |
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supposed to be a temporary position at La Hermosa Christian Church |
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in south Houston in the mid-1960s; they ended up serving that |
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congregation faithfully for 40 years; Reverend Riojas also worked |
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at Nabisco until his retirement in 1981; and |
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WHEREAS, Devoted to his family and his faith, Ben Riojas |
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lived a rich and purposeful life, and cherished memories of time |
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spent in his company will long endure in the hearts of all who knew |
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and loved him; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Reverend Ben |
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Sanchez Riojas and extend sincere condolences to the members of his |
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family: to his children, Amelia Cardona and her husband, Paul, |
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Benny Riojas and his wife, Lucy, and Gina Gauthier and her husband, |
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Robert; to his grandchildren, Rafael Gonzales and his wife, Kim, |
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Catarina Cron and her husband, Richard, Charissa Montoya and her |
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husband, Juan, Benjamin Riojas and his wife, Emily, and Sydnee and |
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Mackenzie Gauthier; to his great-grandchild, Sofie Riojas; to his |
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brothers, Tony, Ruben, and Samuel Riojas and their wives; to his |
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sister, Jovita Cavazos; and to his other relatives and friends; |
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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 Ben Riojas. |
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Wu |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1822 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 4, 2013. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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