Bill Text: TX HR190 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Nelda McQuien Laney of Hale Center.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-04-11 - Reported enrolled [HR190 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR190-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 190 | ||
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| 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. | ||
| Pickett | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 190 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
| rising vote of the House on April 6, 2017. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
