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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A full and productive life drew to a close with the |
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passing of John Elihue Codwell Jr. on August 14, 2017; and |
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WHEREAS, The only child of educators Vera Codwell and John |
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Elihue Codwell Sr., John Codwell was born in the Fourth Ward in |
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Houston in 1933 and moved to the Fifth Ward when he was in |
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elementary school; he attended Phillis Wheatley High School and |
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graduated third in the Class of 1950, with both academic and |
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athletic honors; seeking opportunities not available in |
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segregation-era Texas, he chose to enroll in his father's alma |
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mater, the University of Michigan, where he earned three varsity |
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letters; he became the school's first African American basketball |
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player when he made the freshman team, and he went on to play at the |
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varsity level and made the All-Big Ten team as an honorable mention; |
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a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, he was commissioned |
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as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force after |
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graduation; he served at Ellington Air Force Base as a navigator and |
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instructor and attained the rank of first lieutenant; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Codwell earned his master's degree from Wayne |
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State University, and he was employed by the Detroit school |
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district for 27 years; he rose to become superintendent of support |
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services with responsibility for managing the district's security |
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forces, student busing services, and lunch and food services |
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program; following his retirement from the district, he joined the |
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municipal government, and he was appointed executive director of |
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the Detroit Public Housing Authority; he was inducted into Sigma Pi |
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Phi, which honors accomplished African American college graduates |
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and professionals, and he belonged to Iota Boulé in Detroit and |
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later Nu Boulé in Houston; in 2013, he was inducted as a Phillis |
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Wheatley High School Alumni Wall of Fame honoree; and |
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WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Codwell shared a |
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fulfilling marriage with Evelyn Bernette Reid Codwell that spanned |
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nearly three decades before her passing in 1985; he took great pride |
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in his two children, Carolyn Elaine Codwell and John Elihue Codwell |
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III, and his three grandchildren, Austin, Reid, and John; and |
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WHEREAS, While the death of John Codwell Jr. brings great |
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sadness to his family and friends, he leaves behind a legacy that |
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will long be treasured by all those who held him dear; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of |
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John E. Codwell Jr. and extend sincere sympathy to his loved ones; |
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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 adjourns this day, it do so in memory of John E. |
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Codwell Jr. |