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        |  | 
      
        |  | R E S O L U T I O N | 
      
        |  | 
      
        |  | WHEREAS, The death of admired educator Alberto Byington Sr. | 
      
        |  | on July 21, 2012, at the age of 77, brought a great loss to residents | 
      
        |  | of South Texas; and | 
      
        |  | WHEREAS, Born in Falfurrias on April 6, 1935, Alberto | 
      
        |  | Byington was the son of Alfredo Byington Sr. and Annabel Cruz | 
      
        |  | Byington; he graduated from Falfurrias High School and served his | 
      
        |  | country in the United States Air Force before going on to complete | 
      
        |  | his bachelor's and master's degrees at Texas A&I University; and | 
      
        |  | WHEREAS, Mr. Byington's career in education spanned nearly a | 
      
        |  | half-century; he began teaching in Falfurrias in 1961, and two | 
      
        |  | years later, he became a principal in Encino; returning to the | 
      
        |  | Brooks County Independent School District, he served as director of | 
      
        |  | federal programs and assistant superintendent, and in 1973, he | 
      
        |  | began a noteworthy 23-year tenure as superintendent; he then served | 
      
        |  | as interim superintendent in Mathis, San Diego, and Ben Bolt-Palito | 
      
        |  | Blanco, where a six-month appointment turned into a seven-year | 
      
        |  | tenure; in addition, he was a Texas Education Agency Monitor for | 
      
        |  | Driscoll ISD; he was asked to return to Brooks County as | 
      
        |  | superintendent and served until 2010, when he retired from the | 
      
        |  | district for a second time; and | 
      
        |  | WHEREAS, Deeply committed to his calling, Mr. Byington was a | 
      
        |  | kind mentor to countless people, and he served in numerous | 
      
        |  | leadership roles; he was chair of the University Interscholastic | 
      
        |  | League Waiver Review Board and a member of the UIL State Executive | 
      
        |  | Committee and the Region XIV Music Executive Committee, and his | 
      
        |  | professional affiliations included the Texas State Teachers | 
      
        |  | Association and Texas Association of School Administrators; named | 
      
        |  | Educator of the Month by Texas School Business magazine, he also | 
      
        |  | received the prestigious Golden Molcajete Award from the Mexican | 
      
        |  | American School Board Members Association and the Tejano Service | 
      
        |  | Award, which recognized him as the longest-serving Hispanic | 
      
        |  | superintendent in the state; and | 
      
        |  | WHEREAS, This civic-minded Texan served the wider community | 
      
        |  | as a member of the Brooks County Chamber of Commerce, the Juvenile | 
      
        |  | Board, and the board of the Kingsville Area Educators Federal | 
      
        |  | Credit Union; moreover, he was a valued member of Sacred Heart | 
      
        |  | Catholic Church, where he served as lector; above all, he was a | 
      
        |  | devoted family man; he shared a fulfilling relationship with his | 
      
        |  | wife, Virginia Susana Byington, and he was the proud father of | 
      
        |  | Alberto, Kristina, and Ricardo; and | 
      
        |  | WHEREAS, Alberto Byington was dedicated to providing the | 
      
        |  | children of rural South Texas with a strong foundation on which to | 
      
        |  | build, and his outstanding contributions will remain a source of | 
      
        |  | inspiration to all who were fortunate enough to know him; now, | 
      
        |  | therefore, be it | 
      
        |  | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas | 
      
        |  | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Alberto Byington | 
      
        |  | Sr. and extend sincere condolences 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 Alberto | 
      
        |  | Byington Sr. | 
      
        |  | 
      
        |  | Guillen | 
      
        |  |  | 
      
        |  | ______________________________ | 
      
        |  | Speaker of the House | 
      
        |  | 
      
        |  | I certify that H.R. No. 656 was unanimously adopted by a | 
      
        |  | rising vote of the House on March 5, 2015. | 
      
        |  |  | 
      
        |  | ______________________________ | 
      
        |  | Chief Clerk of the House | 
      
        |  |