SENATE MEMORIAL 65

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Howie C. Morales

A MEMORIAL

HONORING SHIRLEY HOOPER-GARCIA IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, Shirley Hooper-Garcia, a former secretary of state and one-time Santa Fe county deputy clerk, died on October 24, 2014 at her home in Roswell; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley was the daughter of a sharecropper and was born November 5, 1935 in Meadow, Texas, to Isom F. Collier and Lena C. Collier and was one of thirteen children; and

     WHEREAS, in her early years, she worked for private law firms as a legal secretary; and

     WHEREAS, in 1959, Shirley began a long and distinguished career in state and local government; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley was a legislative aide to former Governor Jack Campbell; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley was the secretary to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Walter K. Martinez, was the assistant chief clerk of the house of representatives and was a legal secretary to two New Mexico supreme court justices; and

     WHEREAS, she went on to serve as the secretary of state, and after that, as the Lea county clerk; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley also served as an administrator for the office of the public defender in Hobbs and as the chief deputy of the Santa Fe county clerk's office; and

     WHEREAS, she served on the board of regents of the New Mexico school for the deaf and was one of the founders of the international association of parents of the deaf; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley took pride in volunteering for many organizations for children with disabilities; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley wrote short stories and poetry and her hobbies included water aerobics, gardening and doing crossword puzzles "to keep her mind sharp"; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley left Santa Fe and moved to Roswell in 2010; and

     WHEREAS, Shirley's husband, Edward Garcia, died in 2012, and she is survived by her sons, Greg Hooper and John Hooper, and their families;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Shirley Hooper-Garcia be honored for her long and distinguished career as a public servant and for her advocacy for people with disabilities; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the family of Shirley Hooper-Garcia.

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