HR870 - In memory of South Belt community leader Marie Flickinger.

      H.R. No. 870       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, Residents of southeast Houston lost a beloved   community activist and civic leader with the passing of Marie   Flickinger on November 11, 2024, at the age of 82; and          WHEREAS, Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on September 1, 1942,   to Alexander and Mary Spence, the former Marie Spence grew up with   the companionship of two siblings, Morris and Alexis; after   graduating from high school, she exchanged wedding vows with David   Flickinger in 1962, and the pair went on to share in the joy of   raising two sons, Fred and David; her family later grew to include   three granddaughters, Kimberly, Courtney, and Natalie, as well as   seven great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, Penelope, Kelvin,   Noah, Elliana, and Isabella; and          WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger and her husband resided in Minnesota   before relocating to the Houston area, where they eventually   settled in the Sagemont subdivision; in addition to being a   homemaker, she found her way into the journalism field when she was   recruited by an editor for the Friendswood News ; after gaining   experience reporting on issues in the South Belt/Ellington   community and Pasadena ISD, she joined a friend, Bobby Griffin, in   co-founding the South Belt-Ellington Leader , and she served the   weekly newspaper as publisher until her passing; and          WHEREAS, Through the years, Mrs. Flickinger developed a   reputation as a tireless advocate for her community, earning the   moniker "the mayor of South Belt"; although she covered hundreds of   news stories throughout her career, she was perhaps best known for a   series of investigative articles that exposed the dumping of toxic   waste at the Brio Superfund site in the 1980s, and her central role   in uncovering the scale of contamination in its neighboring   subdivision led to her being tapped to serve as the Environmental   Protection Agency's community liaison for the site; for many years,   she was also integral in securing infrastructure improvements to   mitigate flooding, including the construction of the South Belt   Stormwater Detention Basin; and          WHEREAS, During the 1990s, Mrs. Flickinger had the   distinction of being the first woman to be elected to the San   Jacinto College Board of Trustees, where she served for nearly 30   years before recently retiring as its chair; among her many   achievements, she was a founding member and inaugural president of   the South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce, and she oversaw the   introduction of an Early College High School program in Pasadena   ISD, for which the district named her its Distinguished Citizen of   the Year in 2015; moreover, she was known for organizing community   events such as the annual Fourth of July parade and Christmas drive   for the needy, and she demonstrated her strong Catholic faith as a   parishioner at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church and later as one   of the founding members of St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Church;   and          WHEREAS, Mrs. Flickinger was inducted into the Hall of Honor   at Dobie High School in 2015 and received the M. Dale Ensign Trustee   Leadership Award from the Association of Community College Trustees   in 2013; she was also recognized by Governor Greg Abbott with the   Governor's Volunteer Award for her role in coordinating emergency   relief efforts during Hurricane Harvey; and          WHEREAS, Through her widespread civic contributions, Marie   Flickinger had a profound and positive impact on her community, and   those she leaves behind will continue to find inspiration in their   memories of this extraordinary woman; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas   Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Marie Flickinger and   extend deepest sympathy to the members of her family: to her   husband, David Flickinger; to her sons, Fred Flickinger and his   wife, Leslie, and David Flickinger and his wife, Ellie; to her   granddaughters, Kimberly Lipina and her husband, Matthew, Courtney   Durham, and Natalie Abarca and her husband, Jose; to her   great-grandchildren, Abigail, Jackson, and Penelope Durham, Kelvin   Lopez, Noah and Elliana Abarca, and Isabella Delgado and her   husband, Sebastian; to her siblings, Morris Spence and Alexis   Lochner; 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 of   Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Marie   Flickinger.     Paul     ______________________________   Speaker of the House                 I certify that H.R. No. 870 was unanimously adopted by a   rising vote of the House on May 23, 2025.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House