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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Hawthorn Funeral Home is celebrating its 100th |
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anniversary in 2021, and this occasion presents a welcome |
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opportunity to reflect on the many contributions this respected |
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business has made to the community of Carthage; and |
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WHEREAS, Members of the Hawthorn family first came to Panola |
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County in the 1860s, and in 1921, one of the descendants of the |
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original settlers, Stephen Adolphus "Tebe" Hawthorn, founded |
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Hawthorn Hardware and Company, which also sold caskets and rented a |
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horse drawn wagon for use as a hearse; Tebe Hawthorn's son Neal |
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later joined the business, and he eventually turned his home on West |
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Wellington Street into Hawthorn Funeral Home, the first |
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full-service undertaking business in Panola County, offering |
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livery, caskets, embalming, and funeral direction from one |
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location; and |
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WHEREAS, The family went on to hire Mark Osborne, a licensed |
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funeral director and embalmer, and after Neal Hawthorn died in |
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1947, Mr. Osborne continued to run the business; in 1965, he |
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oversaw an expansion of the facilities, adding a full sanctuary, a |
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music room, private family seating, and the building's distinctive |
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formal colonnade; he married Neal Hawthorn's widow, Alice, in 1968, |
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and together the couple operated the funeral home until their |
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retirement in 1975; and |
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WHEREAS, In the following years, the funeral home changed |
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hands several times, until it was purchased by Carlton Shamburger, |
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who started at the mortuary as an apprentice funeral director in the |
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1990s and rose to become manager and funeral director in charge; |
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guided by the experience of former owner Mark Osborne and longtime |
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employees Don Honeycutt and Melvin Johns, Mr. Shamburger took over |
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the business and oversaw a renovation of the building; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Hawthorn Funeral Home is owned and operated |
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by the Shamburger Family Partnership LP, which includes |
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Mr. Shamburger's children, Katherine, Meredith, and Benjamin, who |
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help to carry on the long-standing traditions of this historic |
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Panola County enterprise; the legacy of the Hawthorn family is |
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maintained by the granddaughters of Neal Hawthorn, Beth and |
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Barbara; and |
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WHEREAS, For the past century, Hawthorn Funeral Home has |
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played an invaluable role in the lives of countless families in |
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Carthage and Panola County, and it is fitting that this notable |
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enterprise be recognized for its compassionate and dedicated |
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service; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Hawthorn Funeral Home on its |
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centennial and extend to all those associated with the business |
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sincere best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Hawthorn Funeral Home as an expression of high regard |
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by the Texas House of Representatives. |