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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A life filled with heroic service and meaningful |
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accomplishments drew to a close with the passing of Joseph Ray Perry |
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of Paint Creek on April 27, 2017, at the age of 92; and |
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WHEREAS, The son of Hoyt Perry and Thelma Dinsmore Perry, Ray |
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Perry was born in the Paint Creek community on April 23, 1925; he |
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was educated at the Post School and in the Paint Creek Independent |
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School District, which his grandfather, Wayne Perry, helped |
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establish while Ray was growing up; with his country at war at the |
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time of his graduation in 1943, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, |
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and while still a teenager, he accepted the perilous assignment of |
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being the tail gunner on a B-17 bomber; he ultimately completed 35 |
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combat missions over Nazi Germany, including one in which his |
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crew's heavily damaged plane barely made it back to its base in |
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England, and he was awarded a number of medals for his valorous |
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service; and |
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WHEREAS, After demobilization, Mr. Perry returned to Haskell |
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County and soon had the good fortune to meet Amelia June Holt on a |
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blind date; the couple married on June 29, 1947, beginning a |
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rewarding marriage that would span almost 70 years; they settled in |
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Paint Creek and worked as tenant farmers until they were able to |
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purchase their own property, and Mr. Perry's deep love of farming |
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and the land where he lived and worked were essential touchstones in |
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his life; and |
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WHEREAS, The Perrys became the parents of two children, Milla |
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Perry Jones and James Richard "Rick" Perry; Mr. Perry took great |
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pride in the accomplishments of his children, including his son, |
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who was inspired by his father's example to become an officer in the |
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U.S. Air Force and whose career in public office has included |
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service as the Texas commissioner of agriculture and lieutenant |
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governor, as the state's longest-serving governor, and as the |
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United States secretary of energy; and |
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WHEREAS, A prominent member of his community, Ray Perry |
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served for a decade on the Paint Creek ISD school board, and in |
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1968, he was first elected as a county commissioner; he held that |
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office for 28 years, and his achievements made a lasting and |
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positive difference in the lives of his fellow citizens; he also |
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distinguished himself during his six-year tenure on the West |
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Central Texas Council of Governments, which included two years as |
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the president of the board; moreover, he was a member and two-time |
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president of the Paint Creek Water Corporation board, after having |
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played an instrumental role in the corporation's founding; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1990s, Mr. Perry retired, and he spent his |
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time enjoying the love and laughter of his grandchildren and his |
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great-grandchildren; through the years, he was an avid hunter, and |
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a highlight of his hunting excursions was a trip to Alaska on which |
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he shot a world record caribou; and |
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WHEREAS, Ray Perry was a courageous airman, a caring husband |
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and father, and a respected community leader, and the contributions |
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he made in each of these roles will long inspire those who were |
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fortunate enough to know him; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Joseph Ray Perry and |
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extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his |
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wife, Amelia Perry; to his children, Milla Perry Jones and James |
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Richard "Rick" Perry and his wife, Anita; to his grandchildren, |
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Griffin Perry and his wife, Meredith, Caitlyn Jones, and Sydney |
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Perry Harrison and her husband, Brett; to his great-granddaughters, |
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Ella and Piper Perry; to his brothers, Gene Perry and Don Perry and |
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his wife, Nanette; to his sister, Frances Blacklock; to his nieces |
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and nephews; and to his other relatives and many 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 his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Joseph Ray |
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Perry. |
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Straus |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 17 was unanimously adopted by a rising |
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vote of the House on May 12, 2017. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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