Bill Text: TX HR161 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: In memory of former Fort Worth mayor Bob Bolen.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-02-26 - Reported enrolled [HR161 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HR161-Introduced.html
Bill Title: In memory of former Fort Worth mayor Bob Bolen.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-02-26 - Reported enrolled [HR161 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HR161-Introduced.html
84R6094 JH-D | ||
By: Goldman | H.R. No. 161 |
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WHEREAS, The citizens of Fort Worth lost an esteemed public | ||
servant with the passing of former mayor Bob Bolen on January 6, | ||
2014, at the age of 87; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born in Chicago on April 10, 1926, Robert Eugene | ||
Bolen was the son of Milford and Bee Bolen; he briefly attended | ||
Texas A&M University before answering his nation's call to duty | ||
during World War II by enlisting in the U.S. Navy and serving as a | ||
gunnery officer aboard the USS Iowa; honorably discharged in 1946, | ||
he subsequently reenrolled at TAMU, where he received a bachelor's | ||
degree in business administration in 1948; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Bolen began his career by working for McCrory | ||
Stores, following in the footsteps of his father, a longtime | ||
manager with the company; while employed at a store in Syracuse, New | ||
York, he met Frances Ciborowski, and the two later married; through | ||
the years, they were blessed with a treasured family of six | ||
children; and | ||
WHEREAS, After Mr. Bolen and his family settled in Fort | ||
Worth, he left McCrory to open a shop that sold toys and bicycles, | ||
and he later expanded his operation to include 20 Hallmark card | ||
stores across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and in San Antonio; | ||
in 1979, he decided to pursue public office and was elected as the | ||
District 6 representative on the Fort Worth City Council; he | ||
quickly garnered the respect of his constituents and colleagues, | ||
and voters chose him as the city's mayor in a special election in | ||
1982; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Bolen went on to distinguish himself during a | ||
nine-year tenure in that office, becoming the city's | ||
longest-serving mayor; he compiled an impressive list of | ||
accomplishments, overseeing the development of Fort Worth Alliance | ||
Airport and the American Airlines maintenance facility, the | ||
completion of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing building, | ||
and the arrival of such new companies as Burlington Northern and The | ||
University of Texas at Arlington Advanced Robotics Research | ||
Institute; moreover, he partnered with prominent figures in the | ||
region to revitalize the downtown area with the addition of the | ||
Tandy Center and Sundance Square and the refurbishment of the Hotel | ||
Texas and General Worth Square; and | ||
WHEREAS, Other highlights of his years in office included the | ||
establishment of the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, the | ||
Dallas/Fort Worth International Trade Resource Center, and the | ||
Metroplex High Technology Education Task Force; renowned as the | ||
"people's mayor," he demonstrated remarkable dedication to his | ||
adopted hometown and consistently worked more than 60 hours a week | ||
to carry forth his ideal that he should leave the city an even | ||
better place than he found it; and | ||
WHEREAS, In addition to the duties of his office, Mr. Bolen | ||
served as the president of the Texas Municipal League in 1987, and | ||
he was elected as a member of the board for the National League of | ||
Cities in 1985, becoming that body's president in 1990; after | ||
leaving office in 1991, he held membership on advisory boards and | ||
city committees, and he joined Texas Christian University as a | ||
senior advisor to the chancellor and as a mentor for the | ||
institution's entrepreneur program; this visionary civic leader | ||
was conferred honorary doctorates in public service from the | ||
University of North Texas and TCU, as well as an honorary doctorate | ||
of humanities from Texas Wesleyan University; and | ||
WHEREAS, Though it is impossible to gauge the full effect of | ||
one man's life, some individuals leave their unmistakable mark on | ||
the world as they move through it, and Bob Bolen's contributions | ||
will long resonate in the Fort Worth community and in the lives of | ||
all who knew him; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Bob Bolen and extend | ||
sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his wife, Fran; | ||
to his daughter, Terrie Manning and her husband, David; to his sons, | ||
Randy Bolen and his wife, Pam, and Ron Bolen; to his foster son, Don | ||
Cosby and his wife, Kathryn; to his grandchildren, Jeff Bolen, Chad | ||
Bolen, Shannon Young, Matthew Manning, Jamie Manning, Tucker Cosby, | ||
and Anne Claire Cosby; to his great-grandchildren, Brady, Brennan, | ||
Charlie, and Robert Walter; to his niece, Sandy Bolen; to his | ||
nephew, Brad Bolen; and to his other relatives and many friends; | ||
and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Bob Bolen. |