Bill Text: TX HR17 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Joseph Ray Perry of Paint Creek.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-16 - Reported enrolled [HR17 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR17-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 17 | ||
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| WHEREAS, A life filled with heroic service and meaningful | ||
| accomplishments drew to a close with the passing of Joseph Ray Perry | ||
| of Paint Creek on April 27, 2017, at the age of 92; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The son of Hoyt Perry and Thelma Dinsmore Perry, Ray | ||
| Perry was born in the Paint Creek community on April 23, 1925; he | ||
| was educated at the Post School and in the Paint Creek Independent | ||
| School District, which his grandfather, Wayne Perry, helped | ||
| establish while Ray was growing up; with his country at war at the | ||
| time of his graduation in 1943, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, | ||
| and while still a teenager, he accepted the perilous assignment of | ||
| being the tail gunner on a B-17 bomber; he ultimately completed 35 | ||
| combat missions over Nazi Germany, including one in which his | ||
| crew's heavily damaged plane barely made it back to its base in | ||
| England, and he was awarded a number of medals for his valorous | ||
| service; and | ||
| WHEREAS, After demobilization, Mr. Perry returned to Haskell | ||
| County and soon had the good fortune to meet Amelia June Holt on a | ||
| blind date; the couple married on June 29, 1947, beginning a | ||
| rewarding marriage that would span almost 70 years; they settled in | ||
| Paint Creek and worked as tenant farmers until they were able to | ||
| purchase their own property, and Mr. Perry's deep love of farming | ||
| and the land where he lived and worked were essential touchstones in | ||
| his life; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Perrys became the parents of two children, Milla | ||
| Perry Jones and James Richard "Rick" Perry; Mr. Perry took great | ||
| pride in the accomplishments of his children, including his son, | ||
| who was inspired by his father's example to become an officer in the | ||
| U.S. Air Force and whose career in public office has included | ||
| service as the Texas commissioner of agriculture and lieutenant | ||
| governor, as the state's longest-serving governor, and as the | ||
| United States secretary of energy; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A prominent member of his community, Ray Perry | ||
| served for a decade on the Paint Creek ISD school board, and in | ||
| 1968, he was first elected as a county commissioner; he held that | ||
| office for 28 years, and his achievements made a lasting and | ||
| positive difference in the lives of his fellow citizens; he also | ||
| distinguished himself during his six-year tenure on the West | ||
| Central Texas Council of Governments, which included two years as | ||
| the president of the board; moreover, he was a member and two-time | ||
| president of the Paint Creek Water Corporation board, after having | ||
| played an instrumental role in the corporation's founding; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In the 1990s, Mr. Perry retired, and he spent his | ||
| time enjoying the love and laughter of his grandchildren and his | ||
| great-grandchildren; through the years, he was an avid hunter, and | ||
| a highlight of his hunting excursions was a trip to Alaska on which | ||
| he shot a world record caribou; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Ray Perry was a courageous airman, a caring husband | ||
| and father, and a respected community leader, and the contributions | ||
| he made in each of these roles will long inspire those who were | ||
| fortunate enough to know him; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Joseph Ray Perry and | ||
| extend sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his | ||
| wife, Amelia Perry; to his children, Milla Perry Jones and James | ||
| Richard "Rick" Perry and his wife, Anita; to his grandchildren, | ||
| Griffin Perry and his wife, Meredith, Caitlyn Jones, and Sydney | ||
| Perry Harrison and her husband, Brett; to his great-granddaughters, | ||
| Ella and Piper Perry; to his brothers, Gene Perry and Don Perry and | ||
| his wife, Nanette; to his sister, Frances Blacklock; to his nieces | ||
| and nephews; 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 Joseph Ray | ||
| Perry. | ||
| Straus | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 17 was unanimously adopted by a rising | ||
| vote of the House on May 12, 2017. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
