HR891 - In memory of Edna Belle Pemberton of Dallas.

      H.R. No. 891       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, Edna Belle Pemberton passed away on April 13, 2025,   at the age of 81, leaving her family, friends, and neighbors to   reflect on her remarkable life and her many years of dedicated   service to Dallas's Oak Cliff community; and          WHEREAS, Born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 27, 1944, Edna   Pemberton grew up as the youngest of nine children; she married the   love of her life, DarNell Pemberton, on September 19, 1964, and   together, they raised four daughters, Edna Jean, Rita, Lisa, and   Myra; the couple later relocated to Richmond, California, and   adopted eight nieces and nephews, becoming a family of 14; and          WHEREAS, Mrs. Pemberton was employed as a manager at Kmart,   and she continued her career with the company after moving with her   family to Dallas, where she made her home in the Oak Cliff   neighborhood and became highly involved in civic life; through   Kmart, she initiated a number of school supply programs; she also   advocated for her employees by collaborating with the City of   Dallas and DART to establish Route 66, a bus line serving residents   of Oak Cliff; and          WHEREAS, Over the years, Mrs. Pemberton benefited numerous   people by organizing clothing giveaways for flood survivors,   establishing a citywide homeless program called Bridge Over   Troubled Water alongside her husband, and successfully campaigning   for a juvenile curfew ordinance to keep youth off the streets and   away from criminal activities; she was an active supporter of   several youth programs at Concord Church, and in the aftermath of   Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she organized members of her church and   coordinated with various agencies to help provide relief to   evacuees; in recognition of her efforts, FEMA offered her a job as a   volunteer liaison and credited her with aiding approximately 84,000   people, many of whom subsequently relocated to Dallas; and          WHEREAS, Mrs. Pemberton found time to serve other   organizations as well, among them Friends of Red Bird Airport, Camp   Wisdom Now, Operation Community Care, and Parkland Hospital; she   also held membership on the boards of the Martin Luther King Center   in South Dallas and the Dallas NAACP, which named a community award   in honor of her and her husband; together with Mr. Pemberton, she   established the group Positively Oak Cliff to help strengthen the   local economy and introduce valuable initiatives such as an   aviation education program for young teens at Red Bird Airport and   youth etiquette programs at Red Bird Mall; and          WHEREAS, In the later years of her life, Mrs. Pemberton was   deeply invested in maintaining and revitalizing Red Bird Mall, and   she was appointed by Mayor Tom Leppert to act as a liaison between   the mall's tenants and the City of Dallas as community officials   sought to save it from closure; she further volunteered her time as   a voter registrar and precinct chair, and in addition to receiving   several governor's awards, she had the distinction of carrying the   Olympic torch through Dallas in 1996; and          WHEREAS, Edna Pemberton was a woman of great compassion and   generosity who dedicated much of her life to serving the needs of   her community, and although she will be profoundly missed, her   legacy will live on in the hearts of the countless people touched by   her many good works; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas   Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Edna Belle   Pemberton and extend sincere sympathy to all those 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 Edna   Pemberton.     Y. Davis of Dallas     ______________________________   Speaker of the House                 I certify that H.R. No. 891 was unanimously adopted by a   rising vote of the House on April 24, 2025.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House