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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The citizens of Texas lost a courageous and |
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dedicated law enforcement officer with the death of U.S. Border |
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Patrol Agent Susan Lynn Rodriguez on July 7, 1998, at the age of 28; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Born on July 11, 1969, in San Diego, California, to |
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Stephen and Robyn Williams, the former Susan Lynn Williams was |
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raised in a Border Patrol family in the company of her younger |
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sister, Julie Dyane; her father's career took the family around the |
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country, and she ultimately graduated in 1987 from Ferndale High |
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School in Washington, where she was student body vice president and |
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captain of the cheerleading squad; after attending college in San |
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Diego, she transferred to The University of Texas at El Paso to |
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study elementary education; and |
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WHEREAS, She was hired by the U.S. Border Patrol in 1993; she |
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graduated from the Border Patrol Academy in Glynco, Georgia, on |
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February 4 of that year, with her father, who was then serving as |
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deputy border patrol chief of the El Paso Sector, giving the |
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commencement speech and pinning on her badge; not long after |
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beginning work in Harlingen, she met fellow agent Gilberto |
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Rodriguez; the pair exchanged wedding vows on March 18, 1995, and |
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welcomed the birth of a daughter, Megan Suzanne, the following |
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year; although deeply devoted to her career, she cherished her role |
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as a wife and mother above all else and was blessed with the support |
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and affection of a loving family in all her endeavors; and |
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WHEREAS, Joining the Border Patrol at a time when women made |
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up only a small minority of the agency, Agent Rodriguez helped blaze |
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a trail for other female officers by quickly earning the respect and |
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admiration of her colleagues; during her six years in the field, she |
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volunteered to be a post-academy instructor and was often involved |
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in training new agents; she also served as a recruiter in the |
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welfare and recreation office and as an equal employment |
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opportunity representative, and she worked closely with the |
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D.A.R.E. Program in Harlingen; when she was killed while assisting |
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in the search for a murder suspect, she became the first female |
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agent in the history of the U.S. Border Patrol to die in the line of |
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duty; she was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart on July 28, |
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1999; and |
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WHEREAS, Texans owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to the |
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men and women of law enforcement who risk their lives in our behalf, |
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and Susan Lynn Rodriguez's commitment to protecting the safety and |
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well-being of the public will forever be remembered by all those who |
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had the good fortune to know her; 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 and exemplary service of |
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U.S. Border Patrol Agent Susan Lynn Rodriguez and extend heartfelt |
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sympathy to her family and friends; 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 Susan Lynn |
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Rodriguez. |