| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The citizens of Texas lost a courageous and |
|
|
dedicated law enforcement officer with the death of U.S. Border |
|
|
Patrol Agent Susan Lynn Rodriguez on July 7, 1998, at the age of 28; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born on July 11, 1969, in San Diego, California, to |
|
|
Stephen and Robyn Williams, the former Susan Lynn Williams was |
|
|
raised in a Border Patrol family in the company of her younger |
|
|
sister, Julie Dyane; her father's career took the family around the |
|
|
country, and she ultimately graduated in 1987 from Ferndale High |
|
|
School in Washington, where she was student body vice president and |
|
|
captain of the cheerleading squad; after attending college in San |
|
|
Diego, she transferred to The University of Texas at El Paso to |
|
|
study elementary education; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, She was hired by the U.S. Border Patrol in 1993; she |
|
|
graduated from the Border Patrol Academy in Glynco, Georgia, on |
|
|
February 4 of that year, with her father, who was then serving as |
|
|
deputy border patrol chief of the El Paso Sector, giving the |
|
|
commencement speech and pinning on her badge; not long after |
|
|
beginning work in Harlingen, she met fellow agent Gilberto |
|
|
Rodriguez; the pair exchanged wedding vows on March 18, 1995, and |
|
|
welcomed the birth of a daughter, Megan Suzanne, the following |
|
|
year; although deeply devoted to her career, she cherished her role |
|
|
as a wife and mother above all else and was blessed with the support |
|
|
and affection of a loving family in all her endeavors; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Joining the Border Patrol at a time when women made |
|
|
up only a small minority of the agency, Agent Rodriguez helped blaze |
|
|
a trail for other female officers by quickly earning the respect and |
|
|
admiration of her colleagues; during her six years in the field, she |
|
|
volunteered to be a post-academy instructor and was often involved |
|
|
in training new agents; she also served as a recruiter in the |
|
|
welfare and recreation office and as an equal employment |
|
|
opportunity representative, and she worked closely with the |
|
|
D.A.R.E. Program in Harlingen; when she was killed while assisting |
|
|
in the search for a murder suspect, she became the first female |
|
|
agent in the history of the U.S. Border Patrol to die in the line of |
|
|
duty; she was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart on July 28, |
|
|
1999; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Texans owe an incalculable debt of gratitude to the |
|
|
men and women of law enforcement who risk their lives in our behalf, |
|
|
and Susan Lynn Rodriguez's commitment to protecting the safety and |
|
|
well-being of the public will forever be remembered by all those who |
|
|
had the good fortune to know her; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life and exemplary service of |
|
|
U.S. Border Patrol Agent Susan Lynn Rodriguez and extend heartfelt |
|
|
sympathy to her family and friends; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Susan Lynn |
|
|
Rodriguez. |