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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Del Rio lost two longtime civil |
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servants with the passing of George Joe Harrington on |
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December 16, 2024, and William Rattay Jr. on December 17, 2024; and |
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WHEREAS, Joe Harrington was born in Del Rio on |
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December 15, 1955, and he began his tenure with the city in 1974 |
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when he joined the Del Rio Volunteer Fire Department; he was hired |
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on as a full-time employee of the Del Rio Fire Department in 1977, |
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and he earned his firefighter basic certification the following |
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year; named the DRFD Paid Firefighter of the Year in 1984, 1991, and |
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1996, he was awarded the department's medal of honor for his actions |
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during a citywide flood in 1998; he was promoted to assistant chief |
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in 2006, and he served in the positions of operations chief, |
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training chief, and assistant to the emergency management |
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coordinator; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2013, Mr. Harrington was appointed deputy chief, |
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and he became task force leader over agricultural rescue, |
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automobile extrication, and trench rescue for the Annual Municipal |
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Texas Fire Training School; he took over the department as fire |
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chief in 2017 and served in that role until his retirement in 2021, |
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which drew to a close a career that spanned nearly four and a half |
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decades; he is survived by his life partner of 25 years, Marta |
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Rodriguez; and |
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WHEREAS, Bill Rattay was born on June 21, 1959, in Lancaster, |
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Ohio, and he began his law enforcement career with the Del Rio |
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Police Department in 1982; he was promoted to sergeant in 1996 and |
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reassigned to detective sergeant in 1999; he achieved the rank of |
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lieutenant and then captain in 2007, and he served in all of the |
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department's major divisions; after retiring from the DRPD in 2013, |
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he worked for the Val Verde County Sheriff's Office for a year and a |
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half; and |
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WHEREAS, In 2015, Mr. Rattay was reappointed DRPD lieutenant, |
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and he was promoted to captain of the criminal investigations |
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division the following year; he retired from the department a |
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second time in 2021, after nearly four decades of dedicated |
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service; at the time of his death, he was working as an investigator |
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for the Val Verde County Attorney's Office; he is survived by his |
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wife of 30 years, Tamara Harper Rattay, and his sons, William and |
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Steven Rattay; and |
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WHEREAS, Joe Harrington and Bill Rattay exemplified the |
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highest ideals of public service, and they leave behind a legacy |
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that will continue to inspire all those who knew and loved them; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of George Joe |
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Harrington and William Rattay Jr. and extend heartfelt sympathy to |
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all who mourn their passing; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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for their families and that when the Texas House of Representatives |
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adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Joe Harrington and Bill |
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Rattay. |
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Morales of Maverick |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 494 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 23, 2025. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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