Bill Text: TX HR1421 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Mary Frances Diedrick Haas of Corpus Christi.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-04-26 - Reported enrolled [HR1421 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-HR1421-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 1421 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Residents of the Coastal Bend area lost an admired | ||
| civic leader with the death of Mary Frances Diedrick Haas of Corpus | ||
| Christi on February 1, 2013, at the age of 98; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Born in New Jersey on July 22, 1914, the former Mary | ||
| Frances Diedrick was the daughter of Philip and Josephine Diedrick; | ||
| she left home at the age of 14 to attend Trenton State Teachers' | ||
| College, where she earned her bachelor's degree in English and | ||
| history and her teaching certification; she taught special | ||
| education classes for a time, and she also sold encyclopedias | ||
| door-to-door and worked at Macy's book department; and | ||
| WHEREAS, She met Paul Haas at a church social, and they were | ||
| married in 1936; the following year, the couple moved to Houston, | ||
| and in 1941, when Mr. Haas was hired by an oil and gas company, they | ||
| relocated to Corpus Christi, where Mrs. Haas became deeply engaged | ||
| in community life; she helped to create what is now Texas A&M | ||
| University--Corpus Christi, serving on the original board that | ||
| worked to establish an institution of higher education in the city | ||
| and later as the president of the board of directors for the | ||
| school's foundation for development and expansion; she was | ||
| appointed by Governors Bill Clements and Mark White to the | ||
| University System of South Texas Board of Trustees, becoming the | ||
| first female member of that body and later its president, and she | ||
| played an instrumental role in the negotiations that resulted in | ||
| the three state universities in Corpus Christi, Kingsville, and | ||
| Laredo joining the Texas A&M system; she also served on the | ||
| TAMU--Corpus Christi president's council and assisted in the | ||
| creation of the school's Early Childhood Education Center; she | ||
| received an honorary doctorate from the school in 1995; and | ||
| WHEREAS, She and her husband established the Paul and Mary | ||
| Haas Foundation in 1954, and Mrs. Haas guided the foundation in its | ||
| mission of philanthropy for half a century; the organization | ||
| awarded more than $3 million in scholarships to over 1,000 | ||
| deserving students and donated some $15 million to worthy | ||
| organizations in the area; in addition, the Haas Foundation | ||
| established endowed chairs in English and history at TAMU--Corpus | ||
| Christi and a chair in genetics and an endowment for urologic cancer | ||
| research at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; a lifelong supporter | ||
| of education, Mrs. Haas annually selected a book to be presented to | ||
| each member of the graduating class at the Paul R. Haas Middle | ||
| School; and | ||
| WHEREAS, For three decades, Mrs. Haas served as a "Pink Lady" | ||
| at Spohn Hospital, and she was recognized for her efforts at the | ||
| hospital with an award for volunteerism; she also chaired the | ||
| citizens' board of directors of Martineau Juvenile Hall and was a | ||
| member and officer of the Coastal Bend Youth City School; a lover of | ||
| music and theater, she served on the board of directors of the local | ||
| symphony and a municipal arts commission, and she served as | ||
| secretary of the Patrons of De Pineda and as president of the La | ||
| Retama study club; in addition, she was a member of the local | ||
| library and YWCA boards as well as a founding member and trustee of | ||
| the Parkway Presbyterian Church; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In her leisure, Mrs. Haas enjoyed knitting and doing | ||
| needlepoint, and she sewed blankets for premature babies born at | ||
| Driscoll Children's Hospital; she also liked to golf and to go | ||
| dancing with her husband, with whom she shared 72 years, before his | ||
| passing in 2008; moreover, Mrs. Haas was a devoted mother, and she | ||
| took great pride in her children and their spouses, Rheta and Robert | ||
| Page, Raymond and Amanda Haas, and Rene Haas and David Perry, as | ||
| well as in her 10 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Although this remarkable and accomplished woman | ||
| will be deeply missed, she leaves behind an extraordinary legacy | ||
| that will continue to resonate in South Texas and beyond for years | ||
| to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Mary Frances | ||
| Diedrick Haas and extend sincere sympathy to her friends and 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 Mary | ||
| Frances Diedrick Haas. | ||
| Herrero | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 1421 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
| rising vote of the House on April 24, 2013. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
