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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A life lived with joy and purpose drew to a close |
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with the passing of Kathryn Bridget Connolly Piekarski of Tyler on |
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January 10, 2025, at the age of 72; and |
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WHEREAS, The daughter of Jewel and John Connolly, the former |
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Bridget Connolly was born in Lakeland, Florida, on December 12, |
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1952; she earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from the |
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University of South Florida and contributed to multiple |
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publications as a writer and editor during high school and college; |
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in 1981, she became the proud mother of a daughter, Kathryn, and |
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devoted herself to her upbringing; she shared a fulfilling marriage |
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of 27 years with her husband, Anthony Piekarski; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Piekarski lived in many cities, among them |
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Memphis, Tennessee, New Orleans, Louisiana, Anchorage, Alaska, |
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Sarasota, Florida, and London, England; continuing her education, |
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she ultimately earned a master's degree in social work and mental |
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health counseling from the University of Alaska Anchorage; early in |
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her career, she helped schoolchildren in Anchorage and across |
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Central Florida and assessed patients in crisis for hospitals and |
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counties; she eventually established a successful private practice |
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and counseled individuals and families for decades in Florida and |
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then Tyler, where she and her husband settled in 2014 to be close to |
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her grandchildren; wherever she resided, her kindness, empathy, |
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magnetic personality, and keen intellect brought her many lasting |
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friendships; she served as a docent in numerous museums and art |
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galleries, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and worked |
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tirelessly to promote the arts and her favorite local artists; the |
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many organizations she supported included Doctors Without Borders, |
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the SPCA, and a number of symphony orchestras; she also served as |
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co-chair for the American Cancer Society of Anchorage; and |
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WHEREAS, Although Bridget Piekarski is deeply missed, she has |
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left her family and friends with many cherished memories, and she |
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will forever hold a special place in their hearts; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature, 1st |
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Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of Kathryn Bridget |
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Connolly Piekarski and extend sincere sympathy to the members of |
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her family: to her husband, Anthony Piekarski; to her daughter, |
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Kathryn Hamilton-Crain, and her husband, Burton; to her brother, |
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Tom Connolly, and his wife, Karen; to her stepchildren, Garreth |
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Piekarski and his wife, Tess Tomasi, and Leah Piekarski; to her |
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grandchildren, Gabriel and John Bradshaw, Burton, Erik, Patrick, |
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and Zoe Crain, Cora Piekarski, Stella and Iris Martin, and Billy |
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Vermeulen; and to her many other relatives and host of 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 her family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this |
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day, it do so in memory of Bridget Piekarski. |