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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The city of Galveston lost a titan of business and |
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philanthropy with the death of Robert Lee Moody Sr. on November 7, |
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2023, at the age of 88; and |
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WHEREAS, Born on Galveston Island on July 28, 1935, Bobby |
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Moody was the son of Shearn Moody Sr. and Frances Moody Newman; his |
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father died the following year, and he and his brother, Shearn, were |
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educated at boarding school; Bobby Moody graduated as the top cadet |
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at Valley Forge Military Academy and served his country in the |
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U.S. Army; mentored by his grandfather, W. L. Moody, the founder of |
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American National Insurance Company, he possessed similar business |
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acumen and established National Western Life Insurance Company in |
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1956; he eventually rose to become chair and president/CEO of ANICO |
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and built it into one of the country's premier insurance firms; in |
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addition, he created an affiliated company that developed the South |
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Shore Harbour subdivision, hotel, and conference center in League |
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City; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Moody also held other key roles in the family |
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business empire, including chair of Moody National Bank; while |
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earning esteem as one of the city's most prominent citizens, he was |
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known for treating everyone around him with respect and empathy; he |
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encouraged the professional development of his employees, and many |
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stayed on for decades; and |
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WHEREAS, Devoted to his hometown, Mr. Moody guided the |
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charitable Moody Foundation and found numerous ways to make a |
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positive impact; he established the Moody Neurorehabilitation |
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Institute to help brain trauma patients, and in 1992, he |
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spearheaded construction of Moody Gardens; one of the Southwest's |
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premier educational and leisure facilities, Moody Gardens draws |
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some two million visitors annually, spurring the local economy |
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while providing horticultural therapy, education, and employment |
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for individuals with disabilities; he further benefited the |
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disability community by creating the Moody Endowment; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Moody maintained a healthy balance between his |
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myriad ventures and his home life; he and his wife of 53 years, Ann |
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McLeod Moody, raised a blended family of eight children, and they |
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broadened their horizons with extensive travel; on Saturday |
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mornings, he was coach, pitcher, and umpire for baseball games with |
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all the neighborhood children; he was preceded in death by an infant |
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son and by his wife; and |
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WHEREAS, An ardent champion of Galveston, Bobby Moody worked |
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tirelessly to provide opportunities for its citizens, through both |
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his professional and philanthropic endeavors, and his |
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contributions will continue to resonate in the years to come; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 88th Texas Legislature, 4th |
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Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of Robert Lee |
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Moody Sr. and extend sincere condolences to the members of his |
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family: to his children, Robert L. Moody Jr. and his wife, Ingrid, |
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Russell S. Moody, Ross R. Moody, Frances Anne "Francie" |
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Moody-Dahlberg and her husband, Kevin, Edwin Vince "Vic" Matthews |
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and his wife, Cindi, Lea McLeod Matthews and her wife, Jennifer, |
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Allan Watkins Matthews and his wife, Lori, and Dorothea "Dotsy" |
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Matthews Balentine and her husband, David; to his grandchildren, |
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Elizabeth Lee "Elle" Moody and her husband, James Gray, Frances |
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Moody Buzbee and her husband, Tony, Robert L. Moody III, Jackson |
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Davis "Jack" Moody, Maggie Grace Moody, Russell Shearn "Rusty" |
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Moody II, William Charles McLeod "Will" Matthews and his wife, |
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Emma, Katherine Leanne "Kit" Matthews, Tiffany Nicole Bastow, |
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Kimberly McLeod Almon and her husband, Jackson, Marissa Ann |
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Matthews, Lauren Anne Balentine, Alexis Gabrielle Moody-Dahlberg, |
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and Ashton Lee Moody-Dahlberg; to his great-grandchildren, Ella Ann |
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Grant, Jackson "Pierce" Almon II, Brooks Woodson Almon, and Ann |
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McLeod "Annie" Almon; and to his other relatives and friends; and, |
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be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this |
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day, it do so in memory of Robert Lee Moody Sr. |