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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Lela and Vernon Johnson of Houston are celebrating |
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their 66th wedding anniversary on July 27, 2013, and they may |
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reflect with joy on a rewarding and lasting relationship that began |
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with a storybook romance; and |
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WHEREAS, At age six, Vernon Johnson was attending school in a |
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one-room schoolhouse in rural Louisiana when a young girl named |
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Lela Davis caught his eye; though unspoken for many years, his |
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affection for her never wavered, even after he was transferred to |
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another school in the fourth grade; in 1943, the pair were reunited |
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when they ran into one another at a grocery store shortly before |
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Mr. Johnson was to be deployed to serve in World War II; he summoned |
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the courage to ask for her address, so that he could write to her |
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from wherever he was based; and |
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WHEREAS, Through his three years of military service, |
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Mr. Johnson sent Miss Davis innumerable love letters, including one |
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in which he expressed his wish to marry her but asked that she |
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postpone her answer until he had returned; when he was released from |
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active duty, their courtship officially began as they finished |
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school in Natchitoches, Louisiana; out of what was once a |
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friendship between schoolmates, true love blossomed, and the two |
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were joined in matrimony at the home of Mr. Johnson's parents in |
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July 1947; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson moved to Houston in 1949, |
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eventually settling in the Pleasantville neighborhood; they became |
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the proud parents of four daughters, Barbara Johnson-Jefferson, |
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Linda Johnson-Roy, LaVern Johnson, and Monica Johnson-Smith; |
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through the years, they have seen their family grow to include a |
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son-in-law, Michael Smith, as well as five grandchildren, Kim Roy, |
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Toni Jefferson, Morgan Smith, Meagan Smith, and Bryan |
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Bostick, an honorary granddaughter, Kristin Stapleton, four |
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great-grandchildren, Alicia and Sharelle Jefferson and Tiffany and |
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Jordan Roy, and a great-great-granddaughter, Toni-Logan Williams; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Respected members of their community, Mr. Johnson |
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worked at Weingarten Grocery and later operated a remodeling |
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business, while Mrs. Johnson was employed as an EKG technician; now |
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enjoying retirement together, both are longtime congregants at |
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Mt. Olive Baptist Church; and |
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WHEREAS, Although much has changed in the world since they |
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exchanged vows on that special day in 1947, this inspiring husband |
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and wife have remained true to their promise of lifelong |
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commitment, and it is a pleasure to join their admiring circle of |
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loved ones in honoring them at this time; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby congratulate Lela and |
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Vernon Johnson on their 66 years of marriage and extend to them |
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warmest best wishes for continued happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. and Mrs. Johnson as an expression of high regard |
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by the Texas House of Representatives. |