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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, A life made rich through meaningful service drew to |
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a close with the passing of William Douglas Jefferson of San Antonio |
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on June 26, 2013, at the age of 81; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Chicago on January 30, 1932, Bill Jefferson |
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was the son of William and Johnnie Mae Jefferson; the hardships of |
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the Great Depression prompted the family to move to Milwaukee |
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during his childhood, and he later attended the University of |
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Wisconsin, where he was a member of the football team; he left |
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college to enlist in the United States Air Force during the Korean |
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War, beginning a military career that ultimately spanned more than |
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two decades; he was promoted to technical sergeant within four |
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years and went on to join the officer ranks; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Jefferson met his future wife, Joyce Virginia |
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Olivier, when he was a teenager, and he corresponded with her |
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regularly from postings around the world; in July 1954, he used his |
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leave to fly to Buffalo, New York, to see her, and they married two |
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weeks later; the couple became the proud parents of six children, |
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Roxanne, Darrell, Lamont, Celeste, Wallace, and Leah; and |
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WHEREAS, During his years in uniform, Mr. Jefferson was |
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stationed in England, Japan, and Guam as well as in Colorado, New |
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Mexico, Nebraska, Massachusetts, California, and Washington; while |
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excelling in his military duties, he found time to complete his |
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bachelor's degree at the University of Puget Sound in 1962 and to |
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earn his master's degree in political science from St. Mary's |
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University eight years later; he retired at the rank of major in |
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1972 and then became a certified life underwriter and chartered |
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financial planner for Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company; he |
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also taught political science as an adjunct professor at St. |
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Philip's College and San Antonio College; and |
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WHEREAS, This dynamic Texan advocated powerfully for the |
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responsibilities of citizenship in a letter published in Time |
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magazine in 1968, and he embraced those obligations wholeheartedly |
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throughout his life; he volunteered with the Salvation Army for |
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decades and served on the board of St. Peter-St. Joseph Children's |
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Home, and he was a longtime member of the Friends of the San Antonio |
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Public Library; a devout Catholic, he was a Eucharistic minister at |
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Freedom Chapel at Lackland Air Force Base for more than 40 years; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, In his free time, Mr. Jefferson enjoyed pursuing |
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genealogical studies; he discovered that one of his ancestors, |
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Shedrick Willis, was enslaved to a state court judge in Waco in the |
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1800s, and he marveled at the irony that one of his own sons, |
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Wallace B. Jefferson, became chief justice of the Supreme Court of |
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Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Bill Jefferson brought joy to innumerable people |
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through his warm smile and gentle, caring ways; although he will be |
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deeply missed, those who were privileged to know him will continue |
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to find inspiration in their memories of his profound devotion to |
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his family, his faith, and his country; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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2nd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of William |
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Douglas Jefferson and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his |
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family: to his wife, Joyce Jefferson; to his children, Roxanne |
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Jones, Darrell Jefferson, Lamont Jefferson, Chief Justice Wallace |
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Jefferson, and Leah Chapa; to his grandchildren and |
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great-grandchildren; to his sister, Ollie Price; and to his other |
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relatives and many friends; and, 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 House of |
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Representatives and Senate adjourn this day, they do so in memory of |
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William Douglas Jefferson. |