|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, A life filled with meaningful achievements drew to a |
|
close with the passing of former state representative Richard James |
|
Burnett of San Angelo on September 17, 2016, at the age of 94; and |
|
WHEREAS, Dick Burnett was born in Toledo, Ohio, on January |
|
15, 1922, to Rollo and Margaret Burnett; after graduating from |
|
Toledo Central Catholic High School in 1940, he attended Toledo |
|
University until 1943, when he answered his nation's call to duty |
|
and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces; he trained as a pilot at a |
|
number of bases in Texas, including Goodfellow Air Force Base in San |
|
Angelo, and he served with the 310th Fighter Squadron, flying a P-47 |
|
"Thunderbolt" in the Pacific theater; and |
|
WHEREAS, Following his return to civilian life in 1945, |
|
Mr. Burnett earned a bachelor's degree in business from Toledo |
|
University in 1947, and that same year, he was joined in matrimony |
|
to the former Margery Hurt; the couple shared their lives for 41 |
|
years until her death in 1989, and together they raised three sons, |
|
William, Thomas, and John; their treasured family later grew to |
|
include four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; and |
|
WHEREAS, In 1947, Mr. Burnett embarked on a three-decade |
|
career with the FBI, and he went on to serve in New York, Toledo, |
|
Tucson, and Puerto Rico; he was assigned to Dallas in 1964 to help |
|
investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the |
|
following year he settled with his family in San Angelo, where he |
|
worked his final assignment; after retiring from the FBI in 1978, he |
|
won election as the city's chief of police and headed the department |
|
for two years; and |
|
WHEREAS, In 1980, Mr. Burnett was elected to the Texas House |
|
of Representatives, and he ultimately served a total of four terms |
|
in office; during his tenure in the legislature, he frequently drew |
|
on his expertise with police operations and the legal system, |
|
chairing the Public Safety Committee, serving as vice chair of the |
|
Law Enforcement Committee, and holding membership on the Criminal |
|
Jurisprudence Committee, in addition to taking on numerous other |
|
responsibilities at the State Capitol; he retired from the house in |
|
1989; and |
|
WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan further contributed to San |
|
Angelo through his work as president of the Community Justice |
|
Council, Adult Daycare, Crime Stoppers, Family Shelter, and the |
|
Retired Volunteer Program and as director of the Tom Green County |
|
Tax Appraisal Board, the Public Responsibility Committee, and the |
|
United Way; and |
|
WHEREAS, A proud veteran, an accomplished law enforcement |
|
professional, and a dedicated elected official, Dick Burnett will |
|
be deeply missed, but his integrity, patriotism, and generosity of |
|
spirit will continue to inspire all those who knew and loved him; |
|
now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable Richard |
|
James Burnett and extend sincere condolences to the members of his |
|
family: to his sons, William Burnett and his wife, Pamela, Thomas |
|
Burnett, and John Burnett; to his grandchildren, Michael Burnett |
|
and his wife, Ella, Catherine Fierbaugh and her husband, Stephen, |
|
and Macary and Macy Burnett; to his great-grandchildren, Conner and |
|
Julianne Burnett and Ezra Fierbaugh; 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 Richard |
|
James Burnett. |