Bill Text: TX SCR62 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Martha Leah Williams Morriss.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-04 - Signed by the Governor [SCR62 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SCR62-Enrolled.html
S.C.R. No. 62 |
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WHEREAS, Residents of Texarkana lost an admired civic leader | ||
with the passing of Martha Leah Williams Morriss on April 6, 2019, | ||
at the age of 92; and | ||
WHEREAS, The daughter of Jeffie and Isaac Williams, the | ||
former Martha Williams was born in Mount Pleasant on June 13, 1926, | ||
and grew up with two brothers, Bill and Jim; her family moved to | ||
Texarkana when she was 10, and after graduating from Texas High | ||
School, she completed her bachelor's degree in mathematics at | ||
Randolph-Macon Woman's College; on December 31, 1948, she married | ||
Joshua Rutland Morriss Jr., and they were blessed with three sons, | ||
Josh, Don, and William; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mrs. Morriss gave back to her fellow citizens | ||
through her support for many worthwhile organizations; she served | ||
as president of the Junior League of Texarkana, and she was | ||
instrumental in the founding of the Texarkana Regional Arts and | ||
Humanities Council; in addition, she generously shared her time and | ||
talents with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, the Literary Council | ||
of Bowie and Miller Counties, and numerous educational endeavors; | ||
widely admired for her contributions to the cultural scene, she was | ||
appointed to the Texas Commission on the Arts; together with her | ||
husband, she also played a key role in the establishment of MRC | ||
Cornerstone Retirement Community; and | ||
WHEREAS, The Texarkana Independent School District | ||
recognized Mr. and Mrs. Morriss for their exceptional efforts in | ||
behalf of education by naming the Martha and Josh Morriss | ||
Mathematics & Engineering Elementary School in their honor; | ||
moreover, in 2015 the district named the couple Distinguished | ||
Alumni and acknowledged Mrs. Morriss for her education advocacy and | ||
her work to benefit the TRAHC ArtSmart program, which brings the | ||
arts to schools; over the years, she was the recipient of myriad | ||
other accolades, including the C. E. Palmer Award for community | ||
service from the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce; and | ||
WHEREAS, For more than a half century, Mrs. Morriss taught | ||
the Fellowship Sunday school class at Williams Memorial United | ||
Methodist Church, and every summer, she organized Bible Storytime | ||
for Vacation Bible School; she served on the Perkins School of | ||
Theology Executive Board, and she and Mr. Morriss delivered Holy | ||
Communion to shut-ins together as well; and | ||
WHEREAS, Martha Morriss lived a rich and purposeful life | ||
centered on her family, her faith, and her community, and she will | ||
long be remembered with deep affection by all who knew her; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
hereby pay tribute to the memory of Martha Leah Williams Morriss and | ||
extend sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to her | ||
husband, Josh Morriss Jr.; to her sons, Josh Morriss III and his | ||
wife, Diana, Don Morriss and his wife, Patsy, and William Morriss | ||
and his wife, Rita; to her grandchildren, Meredith and David | ||
Farren, Susannah and Daniel Linnett, Marjorie and Chad Matthews, | ||
Allison and Brady Wright, Whitney and Ross Ormond, Melanie and Ben | ||
Tkach, and Brad and Goodwin McCutcheon; to her 15 | ||
great-grandchildren; to her special niece, Joan Baldridge-Ballard; | ||
and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House and Senate | ||
adjourn this day, they do so in memory of Martha Leah Williams | ||
Morriss. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 62 was adopted by the Senate | ||
on May 8, 2019, by a rising vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 62 was adopted by the House | ||
on May 17, 2019, by a rising vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
Approved: | ||
______________________________ | ||
Date | ||
______________________________ | ||
Governor |