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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Bremond were deeply saddened by the |
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death of civic leader and Bremond Press publisher Betty Yezak on |
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July 24, 2016, at the age of 90; and |
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WHEREAS, Born near Wheelock on December 20, 1925, the former |
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Elizabeth Adele Supak was the youngest of the six children of |
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sharecroppers Thomas and Louise Supak; her grandparents were Czech |
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immigrants, and she spoke English as her second language when she |
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started school; after graduating from Franklin High School, she |
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became the first member of her family to attend college, with |
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financial help from her older sister; she worked as a grill cook at |
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the student union while completing her bachelor's degree in English |
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at Texas State College for Women, and during World War II, she held |
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a summer job as a forklift operator at a bomb factory in McGregor; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, She began teaching high school English in |
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Pleasanton, and her brother introduced her to his boss, then-State |
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Representative Herman Yezak; the couple married at St. Mary's |
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Catholic Church in Bremond on October 5, 1949, and they were blessed |
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with two daughters, Patricia "Pisha" and Jennifer, and two sons, |
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Robert and George; while her children were young, Mrs. Yezak |
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supported them in many extracurricular activities; she became an |
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ardent fan of the Bremond Tigers, and in 61 years she attended every |
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regular season football game and missed only four playoff games; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, At the end of the 1950s, the Yezaks purchased the |
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weekly Bremond Press, and following her husband's death in 1986, |
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Mrs. Yezak continued to lead it, with increasing help from her son, |
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George; she wrote a column, "The B.Y. Line," in every edition for 29 |
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years, sharing her observations and, in keeping with her iron |
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commitment to the First Amendment, sometimes rankling certain |
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readers with her strongly held opinions; she also worked from 1957 |
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to 1971 as a Star Route mail carrier and loved getting to know and |
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assist all manner of people along Route 3; subsequently, she served |
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for eight years as a Child Protective Services worker in Franklin, |
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and following the death of her husband, she completed his term as |
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justice of the peace for Robertson County Precinct 4; in addition, |
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she raised cattle with her son George; and |
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WHEREAS, A devout Catholic, Mrs. Yezak was a CYO sponsor, CCD |
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teacher, bazaar volunteer, and lector at St. Mary's; she served the |
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wider community as a member of the Bremond Chamber of Commerce and |
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of the committee that launched the Polish Day festival in 1988; |
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moreover, she was the Democratic Party precinct chair and an |
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election worker for many years; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Yezak took great pride in her seven |
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grandchildren, Eliot, Job, Kie, Menzie, Jackson, Todd, and Yancie, |
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and her great-granddaughter, Georgia; she enjoyed watching Texas |
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A&M and Dallas Cowboys football games, going out to eat, playing 42 |
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dominos, doing crosswords, and following current events with MSNBC, |
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CNN, the Waco Tribune-Herald, The Eagle, and the Dallas Morning |
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News; moreover, she liked to mow the yard, check on the cows, and |
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take care of her four cats, Scrap, Smug, T-Face, and Yellowneck, as |
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well as her "part-time yard dog," Clyde, whose owner, Tinka Hopcus, |
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was a dear neighbor; and |
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WHEREAS, Betty Yezak made a positive difference in her |
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beloved community, and although she is sadly missed by her family, |
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her friends, and her loyal readers, those who were privileged to |
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know her will forever remember her warmth, enthusiasm, and profound |
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sense of community; 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 of Betty Yezak and extend |
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sincere condolences to all who mourn her 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 Betty |
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Yezak. |