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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A full and generous life drew to a close with the |
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death of Donald Benjamin Fielding of Dallas, who passed away on |
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January 20, 2017, at the age of 94; and |
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WHEREAS, Donald Fielding was born in Dallas on July 7, 1922; |
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he graduated from Forest Avenue High School as valedictorian at the |
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age of 15, and that same year he enrolled in the Wharton School at |
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the University of Pennsylvania, in pursuit of a career in the |
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foreign service; and |
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WHEREAS, After graduating from the Wharton School in 1942, |
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Mr. Fielding attended the University of Havana briefly before his |
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induction into the U.S. Army; he attended the Infantry Officer |
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Candidate School and went on to serve as an operations and training |
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staff officer until his discharge at the rank of second lieutenant |
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in 1946; and |
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WHEREAS, Following his return to Dallas, Mr. Fielding joined |
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the family business, National Shoes, where he worked for 42 years, |
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opening several additional locations in 1958, 1968, and 1977; |
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National Shoes was the oldest family-owned business in downtown |
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Dallas at the time, and, thanks to Mr. Fielding, the first downtown |
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retail establishment to hire an African American salesman; the |
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business also joined with a charity, Brother Bill's Helping Hand, |
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to provide shoes to needy children; and |
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WHEREAS, A powerful voice in Dallas politics from the 1960s |
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until the 1990s, Mr. Fielding took a particular interest in |
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education; he played a leading role in the establishment of the |
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Citizens' Committee for Better Schools and the League for |
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Educational Advancement in Dallas, which provided textbooks to poor |
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and underserved students in South and West Dallas, and he founded |
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Operation Employment, a Neighborhood Youth Corps project that |
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helped school dropouts obtain meaningful and productive work; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Fielding also helped found Citizens for |
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Representative Government, a group that was instrumental in pushing |
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for single-member districts; an active participant in the civil |
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rights movement, he marched for the integration of the Piccadilly |
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Cafeteria; he held several leadership positions in the Boy Scouts |
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of America, including chair of the High Trail Scout District, and he |
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started the first Hispanic Boy Scout troop in West Dallas; |
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moreover, he was the author of a book, Assassination and Education: |
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A Guide to Dallas; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Fielding married Virginia Lee Tipton in 1950, |
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and they shared a rewarding union that spanned 63 years, until her |
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death in 2013; the couple were the proud parents of four children, |
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Ronnie, Linda, B. Donald, and Paul, and they were blessed with many |
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grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and |
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WHEREAS, A devoted family man and an engaged citizen, Donald |
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Fielding lived a life rich with purpose, and he leaves behind a |
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record of service that his loved ones can remember with pride; now, |
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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 memory of Donald Benjamin |
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Fielding and extend sincere condolences to his relatives and |
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friends; 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 Donald |
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Fielding. |
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Button |
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Burkett |
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Villalba |
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Meyer |
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Allen |
Gonzales of Williamson |
Ortega |
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Alonzo |
González of El Paso |
Paddie |
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Anderson of Dallas |
Guillen |
Perez |
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Anderson of McLennan |
Gutierrez |
Phelan |
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Biedermann |
Howard |
Reynolds |
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Bonnen of Brazoria |
Isaac |
Rodriguez of Bexar |
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Bonnen of Galveston |
Israel |
Rodriguez of Travis |
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Burkett |
Johnson of Dallas |
Romero, Jr. |
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Burns |
Johnson of Harris |
Rose |
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Cain |
King of Hemphill |
Schofield |
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Canales |
King of Parker |
Schubert |
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Capriglione |
King of Uvalde |
Shaheen |
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Cosper |
Landgraf |
Stephenson |
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Davis of Dallas |
Longoria |
Thompson of Brazoria |
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Davis of Harris |
Lozano |
Thompson of Harris |
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Dean |
Lucio III |
Tinderholt |
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Gervin-Hawkins |
Nevárez |
Zedler |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 405 was unanimously adopted by a rising |
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vote of the House on February 14, 2017. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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