Bill Text: TX HR517 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of John E. Codwell Jr.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-08-17 - Reported enrolled [HR517 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR517-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 517 |
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WHEREAS, A full and productive life drew to a close with the | ||
passing of John Elihue Codwell Jr. on August 14, 2017; and | ||
WHEREAS, The only child of educators Vera Codwell and John | ||
Elihue Codwell Sr., John Codwell was born in the Fourth Ward in | ||
Houston in 1933 and moved to the Fifth Ward when he was in | ||
elementary school; he attended Phillis Wheatley High School and | ||
graduated third in the Class of 1950, with both academic and | ||
athletic honors; seeking opportunities not available in | ||
segregation-era Texas, he chose to enroll in his father's alma | ||
mater, the University of Michigan, where he earned three varsity | ||
letters; he became the school's first African American basketball | ||
player when he made the freshman team, and he went on to play at the | ||
varsity level and made the All-Big Ten team as an honorable mention; | ||
a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, he was commissioned | ||
as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force after | ||
graduation; he served at Ellington Air Force Base as a navigator and | ||
instructor and attained the rank of first lieutenant; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Codwell earned his master's degree from Wayne | ||
State University, and he was employed by the Detroit school | ||
district for 27 years; he rose to become superintendent of support | ||
services with responsibility for managing the district's security | ||
forces, student busing services, and lunch and food services | ||
program; following his retirement from the district, he joined the | ||
municipal government, and he was appointed executive director of | ||
the Detroit Public Housing Authority; he was inducted into Sigma Pi | ||
Phi, which honors accomplished African American college graduates | ||
and professionals, and he belonged to Iota Boulé in Detroit and | ||
later Nu Boulé in Houston; in 2013, he was inducted as a Phillis | ||
Wheatley High School Alumni Wall of Fame honoree; and | ||
WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Codwell shared a | ||
fulfilling marriage with Evelyn Bernette Reid Codwell that spanned | ||
nearly three decades before her passing in 1985; he took great pride | ||
in his two children, Carolyn Elaine Codwell and John Elihue Codwell | ||
III, and his three grandchildren, Austin, Reid, and John; and | ||
WHEREAS, While the death of John Codwell Jr. brings great | ||
sadness to his family and friends, he leaves behind a legacy that | ||
will long be treasured by all those who held him dear; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas | ||
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the life of | ||
John E. Codwell Jr. and extend sincere sympathy to his loved ones; | ||
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 John E. | ||
Codwell Jr. | ||
Dutton | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 517 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on August 15, 2017. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||