Bill Text: TX HR49 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Dr. Marjorie Roper of Bullard.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-11 - Reported enrolled [HR49 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR49-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 49 | ||
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| WHEREAS, The city of Bullard lost a beloved physician and | ||
| civic leader with the death of Dr. Marjorie Roper on January 3, | ||
| 2018, at the age of 96; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Marjorie Ferrell was born in Bullard on June 7, | ||
| 1921, to Hattie and Oran Ferrell; she graduated at 15 from Bullard | ||
| High School as the 1937 class valedictorian, studied pre-med at | ||
| Tyler Junior College and The University of Texas at Austin, and won | ||
| early acceptance at the UT Medical Branch at Galveston, where she | ||
| was one of only three women in her class; she earned her medical | ||
| degree in 1943 and, following her residency, joined the pediatric | ||
| practice of Dr. Ben Andres and Dr. Hardy Cook in Longview; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In August 1944, Ms. Ferrell married Leonard Bauman | ||
| Roper; she was the proud mother of four children, Dan, Tom, Richard, | ||
| and Harriet, and later in life, she was blessed with 13 | ||
| grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Dr. Roper returned to her hometown and opened her | ||
| own practice in the back of her father's pharmacy in 1947, and she | ||
| went on to work out of the same building for the next 59 years; | ||
| affectionately known as "Doctor Margie," she treated generations of | ||
| Bullard residents of all backgrounds, from veterans of the Civil | ||
| War to children born in the 21st century, sometimes accepting | ||
| payment in the form of fresh fruit and vegetables; from 1968 to | ||
| 1987, she also worked part-time at Rusk State Hospital; after she | ||
| retired at the age of 85, she became the first director of Bullard | ||
| United Methodist Church's Christus House Clinic, which now bears | ||
| her name; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In addition to her medical practice, Dr. Roper was a | ||
| longtime supporter of the Bullard Mission House and the Bullard | ||
| Community Library, and she helped establish the Bullard Historical | ||
| Museum in her father's old building; her many accolades included | ||
| being named "Tomato Princess" during the Great Depression, winning | ||
| the Texas Baptist Mother of the Year award in 1963, and receiving | ||
| Tyler Junior College's Distinguished Graduate award in 1999; in | ||
| 2014, a section of Highway 69 was renamed in her honor; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A true hometown hero, Marjorie Roper lived a rich | ||
| and purposeful life dedicated to her patients and to the town she | ||
| loved so well, and she leaves behind a legacy that will resonate in | ||
| the Bullard community for years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Dr. Marjorie Roper | ||
| and extend heartfelt sympathy to her relatives and many 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 | ||
| Dr. Marjorie Roper. | ||
| Clardy | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 49 was unanimously adopted by a rising | ||
| vote of the House on March 6, 2019. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
