Bill Text: TX HR1147 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Kelly Walters of Arlington.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-03-24 - Reported enrolled [HR1147 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HR1147-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1147 |
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WHEREAS, Words cannot adequately express the sorrow felt at | ||
the loss of Kelly Walters of Arlington, a remarkable young woman | ||
whose life was tragically cut short on January 16, 2015, at the age | ||
of 20; and | ||
WHEREAS, Adopted from the Gladney Center when she was only | ||
two weeks old, Kelly Walters was a lively, inquisitive, and | ||
physically daring child from a very early age, whether it was | ||
swinging from the monkey bars at day care, playing on the roof with | ||
a friend, or riding a goat at a birthday party without the goat's | ||
permission; and | ||
WHEREAS, Ms. Walters first showed signs of a budding interest | ||
in politics in the first grade; when she complained about some rules | ||
at school, her mother explained to her that the rules were set by | ||
the school board and the State Board of Education, and Ms. Walters | ||
decided that she needed to become president of the United States, | ||
even writing to President Bill Clinton and offering to take over the | ||
job during the contested election of 2000; on another occasion, | ||
after she was written up by her teacher for poking another student | ||
with a pencil, the indomitable Ms. Walters wrote under the | ||
teacher's comments, "needs more pencils"; and | ||
WHEREAS, At the age of seven, Ms. Walters watched the | ||
coverage of the attack on New York on September 11, 2001, with her | ||
mother, and after reading a book about a young girl in Afghanistan | ||
who poses as a boy to feed her family, she was inspired to help women | ||
and girls in the Arab world, a passion that continued into her | ||
adulthood; and | ||
WHEREAS, Ms. Walters began asking questions at the town hall | ||
meetings of U.S. Representative Joe Barton when she was in her | ||
teens, and when she was 17, he sponsored her as a page in the U.S. | ||
Congress; close to home, she volunteered with the Tarrant County | ||
Republican Party, was a leading member of the Arlington Republican | ||
Club, and served as an election judge on several occasions; and | ||
WHEREAS, After graduating from Lamar High School, | ||
Ms. Walters enrolled in The University of Texas at Arlington, where | ||
she was double-majoring in psychology and political science; she | ||
was also studying Arabic, intending to follow through on her | ||
youthful commitment to work for women's rights in the Arab world; at | ||
the time of her death, she was planning to leave for an intensive | ||
Arabic immersion program in Morocco; and | ||
WHEREAS, Ms. Walters also showed her idealism and her concern | ||
for others in her personal life on a daily basis, helping out | ||
friends in need, taking an interest in individuals of all | ||
backgrounds and beliefs, and earning the respect of people of all | ||
ages with her intelligence, compassion, and maturity; and | ||
WHEREAS, During her years on this earth, Kelly Walters | ||
demonstrated a passion for life and a steadfast commitment to the | ||
causes in which she believed, and her legacy will continue to | ||
inspire all those who were privileged to know her; now, therefore, | ||
be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Kelly Walters and | ||
extend sincere condolences to her parents, Ginna Walters and Gary | ||
Brizendine, and to her other relatives and many friends; 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 Kelly | ||
Walters. | ||
Krause | ||
Tinderholt | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1147 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on March 19, 2015. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||