Bill Text: TX HR41 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of former state representative Frances Tarlton "Sissy" Farenthold.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-10-18 - Reported enrolled [HR41 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR41-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 41 |
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost a bold champion of social | ||
progress and stalwart enemy of corruption with the passing of | ||
former state representative Frances Tarlton "Sissy" Farenthold of | ||
Houston on September 26, 2021, at the age of 94; and | ||
WHEREAS, The former Frances Tarlton was born in Corpus | ||
Christi on October 2, 1926; she was the daughter of Benjamin Dudley | ||
Tarlton Jr., a prominent attorney, and Catherine "Catty" Bluntzer | ||
Tarlton, and she was also influenced by the legacy of her paternal | ||
grandfather, who had served as a state representative and a chief | ||
justice of the Court of Civil Appeals; after attending The Hockaday | ||
School in Dallas, she earned her bachelor's degree in political | ||
science from Vassar College at the age of 19; and | ||
WHEREAS, She enrolled at The University of Texas School of | ||
Law and was one of just eight women to graduate in the Class of 1949, | ||
after which she joined her father's law firm; the following year, | ||
she married George Farenthold, and the couple became the parents of | ||
five children, James, Vincent, George, Benjamin "Dudley", and | ||
Emilie; though she placed her career on hold while raising her | ||
children, she became increasingly active in the civic life of | ||
Corpus Christi in the early 1960s, serving as a member of the city's | ||
Human Relations Commission and as director of Nueces County Legal | ||
Aid and fighting to prevent the obstruction of shoreline views in | ||
the area; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1968, when Ms. Farenthold launched a successful | ||
bid for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives, women | ||
candidates were rare; sworn into office at the start of the 61st | ||
Legislature the following January, she was the only woman serving | ||
in the chamber and one of just two in the entire legislature; | ||
pursuing a range of progressive measures during her two terms in | ||
office, she sought to protect the environment, advance civil | ||
rights, strengthen the social safety net, and improve public | ||
education; joining with her state senate counterpart, Barbara | ||
Jordan, she cosponsored the Texas Equal Rights Amendment and | ||
secured its passage; and | ||
WHEREAS, Perhaps best known for promoting transparency and | ||
ethics reform, Representative Farenthold played a prominent role in | ||
focusing public attention on the corruption exposed by the | ||
Sharpstown scandal, which erupted in 1971; leading a group of | ||
like-minded legislators that became known as the Dirty Thirty, she | ||
demanded an investigation of the house speaker and others, and the | ||
group's efforts helped bring about a sea change in Texas politics; | ||
many of those connected to the scandal saw their political careers | ||
come to an end, and the Dirty Thirty continued to effect reforms at | ||
the State Capitol even after Representative Farenthold left office | ||
at the end of the 62nd Legislature; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1972, Ms. Farenthold ran for governor, and | ||
although she lost a runoff in the Democratic primary, she played a | ||
central role in shaping the national party's reformist platform | ||
that year; she placed second in the voting for the vice presidential | ||
candidate, besting the likes of Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy, and | ||
became the first woman to garner significant support for that place | ||
on the ticket; the next year, she was elected as the inaugural chair | ||
of the National Women's Political Caucus; and | ||
WHEREAS, Ms. Farenthold went on to serve for four years as | ||
the first female president of Wells College in Aurora, New York, | ||
which was then a women-only institution; while balancing its budget | ||
and expanding student recruitment, she cofounded the Public | ||
Leadership Education Network to encourage young women to pursue | ||
careers in public service; returning to Texas, she resumed the | ||
practice of law and joined the faculties of Texas Southern | ||
University and the University of Houston, where she taught one of | ||
the nation's first classes on gender-based discrimination; and | ||
WHEREAS, Elevating her activism to the international level, | ||
Ms. Farenthold joined the board of the Helsinki Watch Committee, | ||
precursor of Human Rights Watch, led protests against apartheid in | ||
South Africa, and participated in peace, human rights, and | ||
environmental efforts around the globe; she was also chair of the | ||
Institute for Policy Studies in Washington and a member of the | ||
advisory board of the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human | ||
Rights and Justice at The University of Texas School of Law; other | ||
notable achievements included serving as chair of the interfaith | ||
Rothko Chapel in Houston for three decades and as executive | ||
producer of the 2009 documentary Quest for Honor; her myriad | ||
accolades include the inaugural Molly Ivins Lifetime Achievement | ||
Award from the ACLU of Texas, the Lyndon Johnson Lifetime Service | ||
Award from the Democratic Party of Texas, and the 2013 Women of | ||
Courage Award from the National Women's Political Caucus; and | ||
WHEREAS, Sissy Farenthold devoted herself wholeheartedly to | ||
making the world more just, peaceful, and humane, and although she | ||
is deeply missed, her vision and compassion will remain a lasting | ||
source of inspiration in the years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of | ||
the Honorable Frances Tarlton "Sissy" Farenthold and extend sincere | ||
condolences to all who mourn her passing; 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 Sissy | ||
Farenthold. | ||
Herrero | ||
Hunter | ||
A. Johnson of Harris | ||
Meza | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 41 was unanimously adopted by a rising | ||
vote of the House on October 14, 2021. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||