|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, The Lone Star State lost an esteemed citizen with |
|
the passing of Nelda McQuien Laney of Hale Center on August 24, |
|
2016, at the age of 73; and |
|
WHEREAS, The daughter of Helen and John McQuien, the former |
|
Nelda McQuien was born in Garza County on June 7, 1943; she |
|
graduated from Plainview High School and went on to complete her |
|
bachelor's degree in education with honors at Texas Tech |
|
University, where she met her future husband, James E. "Pete" |
|
Laney; the couple became the parents of four children, James, |
|
KaLyn, Jamey, and J. Pete, and later welcomed into their family six |
|
grandchildren, Austin, Grant, Gavin, and Holden Phillips and |
|
Clayton and Kendall Laney; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mrs. Laney taught in Hale Center schools, and as her |
|
husband pursued a career in public life, she became a splendid |
|
campaigner; during his long tenure in the Texas House of |
|
Representatives, including five terms as speaker, Mrs. Laney |
|
provided invaluable assistance, and she led the effort to restore |
|
the State Capitol and served as vice chair of the Texas Capitol |
|
Restoration Celebration and as co-chair of the Capitol Fund Drive, |
|
which raised private money for furnishings; in order to sustain |
|
continuing preservation efforts and related educational programs, |
|
she created a series of collectible Texas Capitol holiday |
|
ornaments, which became enormously successful, generating more |
|
than $8 million to date; and |
|
WHEREAS, In 2004, Mrs. Laney implemented a commemorative |
|
ornament series for Keep Texas Beautiful, and for a dozen years, she |
|
handled everything from the selection of themes to marketing and |
|
public relations; she was the most successful salesperson for the |
|
program and attended the organization's annual conferences each |
|
summer in order to promote the project; along the way, she designed |
|
ornaments for more than a dozen other entities across the state, |
|
among them Texas Tech; and |
|
WHEREAS, Mrs. Laney worked tirelessly in behalf of her alma |
|
mater, serving as national president of the Texas Tech Alumni |
|
Association and chairing the fund-raising committee for the $4.5 |
|
million McKenzie-Merket Alumni Center expansion; in addition, she |
|
served on the boards of the Texas Book Festival, the Friends of |
|
Libraries and Archives of Texas, the National Center for Missing |
|
and Exploited Children, and Greater Texas Community Partners, and |
|
she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta, the Omega Delphi Study Club, |
|
the Caprock District Women's Club, and a host of other |
|
organizations; and |
|
WHEREAS, Widely admired for her vision and leadership, |
|
Mrs. Laney won the affectionate nickname "the First Lady of West |
|
Texas"; her work on the Capitol restoration earned a Star of Texas |
|
Preservation Award and special recognition from the Texas Women's |
|
Alliance; moreover, she was the recipient of the inaugural Woman of |
|
Achievement Award from the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, and |
|
she was selected as Woman of the Year in both Plainview and Hale |
|
Center; in 2007, she and her husband received the Texas Tech Alumni |
|
Association's Lauro F. Cavazos Award, and two years later, she was |
|
named a Distinguished Alumna of the Texas Tech College of |
|
Education; she was also inducted into the Future Homemakers of |
|
America Texas Hall of Fame and was named a Lifetime Member of the |
|
Girl Scouts; and |
|
WHEREAS, While pursuing her many civic endeavors, Mrs. Laney |
|
made time for her cherished family and many friends, and she was a |
|
surrogate mother and grandmother to countless people; her warmth, |
|
kindness, grace, and good humor brightened the days of everyone |
|
around her; and |
|
WHEREAS, Nelda Laney demonstrated her great love for Texas |
|
and its people in myriad ways, and although she is deeply missed by |
|
all who were privileged to share in her love and friendship, her |
|
enormous contributions will continue to resonate for years to come; |
|
now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby pay special tribute to the life of Nelda McQuien |
|
Laney and extend profound condolences to her loved ones; and, be it |
|
further |
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Nelda |
|
Laney. |