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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Lubbock lost an admired philanthropist |
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and patron of the arts with the death of Louise Hopkins Underwood on |
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March 7, 2017, at the age of 97; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Houston on May 2, 1919, the former Louise |
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Hopkins was the daughter of Amy and Edwin Hopkins; her family moved |
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to Bronxville, New York, when she was a month old and returned to |
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Dallas in 1931; while a student at The University of Texas at |
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Austin, she met her future husband, Harris Underwood; they married |
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in October 1941, and during his service in World War II, |
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Mrs. Underwood moved to Lubbock; the couple became the proud |
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parents of six children, Jane, Gwynne, Harris, Amy, David, and |
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Mary, and she ensured that as they were growing up, they were |
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exposed to theater, music, and art; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Underwood began volunteering in the community |
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while her children were young, becoming a founding member of the |
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boards of the Sherick Memorial Home and the ACTeens theater program |
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for troubled youth; in addition, she and her husband funded the |
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Bio-Cybernetics Lab at the Children's Clinic at the Texas Tech |
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University medical school, and they were instrumental in the |
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creation of the pediatric orthopaedic chair at the TTU Health |
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Sciences Center Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and |
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Rehabilitation; and |
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WHEREAS, Opening their home to benefit the Lubbock Symphony |
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Orchestra, Texas Tech, and many other worthy organizations and |
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institutions, the Underwoods hosted multiple musicales and |
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fund-raisers; they became strong supporters of TTU College of |
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Architecture initiatives, and in the mid-1990s, Mrs. Underwood |
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became deeply involved in every aspect of the redevelopment of a |
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blighted industrial area as the Lubbock Regional Arts Center; her |
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tireless efforts furthered its growth as a cultural jewel, |
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educational facility, community center, and stimulus for the local |
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economy, and she played a key role in the establishment of live-work |
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spaces for artists in the Charles Adams Studio Project; in |
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addition, she was a founding member of the Texas Alliance for |
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Education and the Arts and of the Lubbock Cultural Arts Commission, |
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and for more than a half century, she served as a volunteer and |
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trustee for the Museum of Texas Tech University; she also gave |
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generously of her time and talents in behalf of the TTU College of |
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Visual and Performing Arts, Ballet Lubbock, three local theater |
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groups, and other organizations; along the way, she made a positive |
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impact on the careers of many individual artists; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2004, an anonymous benefactor donated a |
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significant sum to the arts center with the stipulation that it be |
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renamed the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts; |
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Mrs. Underwood was the recipient of numerous other accolades as |
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well, among them the Dynamic Force award from the Lubbock Arts |
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Alliance, the Champion of the Arts award from the Texas Alliance for |
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Education and the Arts, and the Mahon Award for Extraordinary |
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Public Service from the Lubbock Chapter of the Association for |
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Women in Communications; in 2008, she was inducted into the Texas |
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Women's Hall of Fame; and |
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WHEREAS, Louise Hopkins Underwood enriched the lives of |
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innumerable people through her tremendous efforts to increase |
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access to the arts and to support the development of a vibrant arts |
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community, and those who were privileged to share in her love and |
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friendship will forever remember the grace, enthusiasm, and joyous |
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spirit that she brought to every endeavor she undertook; 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 Louise Hopkins |
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Underwood and extend deepest condolences to all who mourn her |
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passing; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Louise |
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Hopkins Underwood. |